Big strides in Laoag Palaro

Daughter of fish vendors wins first gold; Hidilyn's nephew shines

- By MARK REY MONTEJO

Chrisia Mae Tajarros is dreaming of becoming an astronaut someday — a big ambition for the middle-distance runner whose parents are fish vendors in Leyte.

Though anything is possible with a determined heart, the 13-year-old athlete could proudly say she is already on cloud nine.

Just an hour after sunrise on Monday, May 26, Tajarros gifted Eastern Visayas the first-ever gold medal in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa when she topped the secondary girls 3,000m event by clocking 10 minutes and 18.6 seconds eclipsing her previous time of 10:39.72 that won her a silver in Cebu City last year.

CARAGA's Mary Mae Magbanua (10:48.4) and Ilocos Region's Nathalie Faye Miguel (10:50.4) settled for the silver and bronze, respectively, at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium.