Under the bright lights of the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, John Cabang Tolentino did more than hurdle his way to a historic Asian Games bronze.
Tolentino’s 13.48-second season-best run in the men’s 110m hurdles final on Sunday night was a moment of redemption, putting him squarely on the path toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where he now aims to make his biggest stride yet.
‘Even in the hard times, I kept pushing. I was always dreaming about this,” said Tolentino after placing behind gold medalist Chen Yuanjiang of China (13.15) and Japan’s Rachid Muratake (13.29).
That dream now has a date and a destination with Tolentino’s bronze performance against the best in the continent a launchpad toward 2028 Los Angeles.
‘This bronze showed me I can compete with the best in Asia. Now I want to race again with the best in the world. I’m gonna go for LA Olympics,’ said Tolentino.
Tolentino’s training team has mapped out a four-year plan since his Paris 2024 stint by refining his block starts, sharpening his hurdle clearance, and building the explosive mid-race speed needed to break into the global top tier.
‘LA 2028 isn’t just a dream for me. It’s a target. Every race from now on is part of that mission,’ he added following that historic run.
He hurdled decades of drought since the Philippines had not won an Asian Games hurdles medal since Elma Muros in 1990, and no Filipino male hurdler had reached the podium since 1954.
Tolentino’s ascent has been steady but steep. His SEA Games triumph in Bangkok last December, a blistering 13.66 seconds, breaking a decade-old record, signaled that he was entering a new tier of performance.
But the Asian Games podium, earned against the continent’s elite, confirmed it.
‘I’m very happy. It was just a lot of self-pressure, and I just did it,’ he said, emotion cracking through the adrenaline.