By El Amigfo
John Cabang Tolentino is already looking beyond his historic Asian Games bronze, setting his sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after finally reaching the Asiad podium.
“I’m gonna go for LA Olympics,” Tolentino said after securing bronze in the men’s 110-meter hurdles Sunday night at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.
The Paris Olympian clocked a season-best 13.48 seconds to give the Philippines its first athletics medal of the 2026 Asian Games.
China’s Chen Yuanjiang won gold in 13.15 seconds, while Japan’s Rachid Muratake took silver in 13.29. Tolentino edged Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Yuan-kai, who finished fourth in 13.55.
The medal ended a long wait for Philippine athletics. Tolentino became the first Filipino male hurdler to win an Asian Games medal since 1954. It was also the country’s first Asiad hurdles medal since Elma Muros captured bronze in 1990.
Tolentino, who qualified for the final with a 13.58-second heat, improved his time when it mattered most.
“I’m very happy. It was just a lot of self-pressure, and I just did it,” he said.
The bronze also served as redemption after he narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
His latest breakthrough capped a strong stretch in his career. In December 2025, he won the 110m hurdles gold at the SEA Games in Bangkok in a record 13.66 seconds.
Now, Tolentino has another major goal: earning another shot at the Olympic stage in Los Angeles.
