TWELVE-YEAR-OLD Aristen Aricela Ardice Dormitorio shone as the inaugural gold medalist in the 2023 Batang Pinoy, emerging triumphant in the Girls-13-Under Criterium cycling event at the Tagaytay City Centrum on Monday morning.

Dormitorio, the younger sibling of MTB (mountain bike) multi-medalist Ariana, completed the 30-minute, three-lap race in an impressive 45 minutes and 48.4 seconds, outpacing eight other competitors and proudly representing the Quezon City LGU squad.

“Masaya po. Meditate and prayers po kasama sa preparation ko,” said the Hope Integrated School student, who devoted significant time, training five hours a day, six days a week for her events.

Mirroring her older sister Ariana, Dormitorio is transitioning from mountain biking to road cycling and eagerly anticipates participating in the ITT, MTB XCO, and XCE events to bolster her medal count in the cycling competition under the supervision of Philcycling.

Bagging the silver and bronze medals were Yvaine Oasias and Ysabel Nicole Jamero of Iloilo, respectively.

In the boys’ division, Jhaykarl Ophir Macapagal Nuaez from Quezon City clinched the gold, with Kyle Jabat Florez of General Santos City and Marc Jerenz Atienza of Calapan securing the silver and bronze, respectively.

The multi-event competition for 17-year-olds and below, organized annually by the Philippine Sports Commission, witnessed another standout athlete with an impressive sports pedigree.

Matthew Diaz, the nephew of Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, excelled in the 12-Under Boys’ 37 kg weightlifting category.

Making his first stint in an organized competition, Diaz lifted 41kg in the snatch and 55kg in the clean and jerk, totaling 96kg and securing Rizal Province’s first gold in the weightlifting event of this meet held simultaneously with the Philippine National Games.

“Nakakanerbiyos po kasi unang sali ko pa lamang po. Sinabihan lang po ako ni ate Hidilyn na huwag matakot at isipin ko po na nasa ensayo lang po ako kaya nakayanan ko,” shared the 12-year-old Diaz, mentored by Hidilyn and her husband Julius Naranjo.

The renowned husband-wife tandem has recently established a weightlifting gym in Jala-Jala, Rizal, dedicated to nurturing young weightlifters for international competitions.

Zamboanga City also showcased its dominance in the sport as Adrian Bucol, a Grade 6 student at Zamboanga City National School, lifted a personal best of 103kg (45kg snatch and 58kg clean and jerk) to claim the gold in the 12-Under Boys 32Kg category.

“Pinaghandaan ko po talaga ang makasali dito sa Batang Pinoy,” expressed Bucol, dedicating his gold medal to his parents and aspiring to become an Olympian like his idol, Hidilyn.

Meanwhile, the 3×3 basketball and swimming competitions set records in Batang Pinoy history, with 123 teams participating in 3×3 basketball for boys and girls, and 2,400 individual swimmers in the swimming events.

This year’s edition of Batang Pinoy features 25 sports, including kickboxing and breaking, which are making their debut in the PSC’s premier grassroots sports program.