PARIS – Although acknowledging it was not his forte, wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan vowed to give it his all and reach the finals of the men’s 100-meter T52 in the 17th Paris Paralympic Games track and field meet at the La Stade Arena here Thursday.

“Hindi po talaga ‘yan ang forte ko, pero ang basic target po namin nila coaches Joel (Deriada) and Bernard (Buen) maka-qualify sa finals,” said Mangliwan on the eve of his event scheduled at 9:01 p.m. Thursday (3:01 p.m. Friday in Manila) and the finals at 11:32 a.m. (5:32 p.m.) the next day.

He, however, booked a personal best of 18.65 seconds in bagging the silver medal in the same event in last year’s Hangzhou Asian Para Games, a marked improvement over his time of 20.08 seconds in placing eighth in the finals in the Tokyo edition of the elite meet three years ago.

“We realize that Jerrold is the underdog in this event so our first goal is to qualify first to the finals then think of our next game plan later,” Deriada said, adding that they were better prepared in case it rains in the heats and finals.

Expecting sunny conditions, the Tabuk, Kalinga pride was stymied by the downpour in the heats and finals of the men’s 400-meter T52 race last week, eventually winding up eighth among the finalists last week.

“Ayaw ko pong mag-dahilan, pero talagang nahirapan po kami sa ulan pero naging madulas yung push ring kaya naging mahirap mag-propel ng wheelchair. Hindi naging maganda yung contact,” he explained.

Nonetheless, the national team skipper, appearing in his third straight Paralympic Games, was determined to go the extra mile in making his country proud in the stint supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

“Eto na ang huling event ko dito sa Paris kaya dapat lang na pagbutihin ko alang alang sa karangalan ng ating bansa,” Mangwilan said.