Kath Magno puts up gallant stand despite competing without a coach in SEA Games

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Kathryn Magno was the last Filipino athlete to compete in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games here on Wednesday, August 30, mere hours before the closing ceremony. And she was also a team of one.

The 27-year-old speed skater finished fourth in the women’s 1000m race at the Empire City Mall here and had only her family surrounding her. Magno, a former figure skater who transitioned to speed skating 3 years ago, is coaching herself and 11 other speed skaters back in the Philippines, including one who is only 9 years old.

“It is a huge factor not having a coach like the other teams and I am the only skater that didn’t train in Korea but it just shows what potential and what I’m capable of doing without a coach,” explained Magno, who had only minimal mentoring from a 3-week camp by a coach from South Korea – one of the world’s top countries in the sport – which she then passed on to the rest of her teammates.

“I made it to the final A, I ranked fourth in the SEA Games. I think that’s pretty good for just training by myself and doing what I can do on my own. Hopefully with what I was able to do here I would get noticed that I need a coach and get the help I need so I can move forward.”

Despite the lack of personnel on her corner, Magno still willed herself to the final A, which mean she skated for a medal. Although she fell short after lagging behind in later laps, she still achieved a personal best time of 1:51.893.

“For me personally I’m happy to make it to the final A. Yesterday I wasn’t able to make the final A and I got a penalty, which I wasn’t aware of so I was a little sad about yesterday’s races,” Magno said. 

“So today I was really fighting for everything I had in me. And everything I prepared for, just leave it out on the ice, which I did.”

“One of the things I was focusing on was just to stay with the pack and do my personal best, which I was able to do. So I’m really happy. I was trying to medal but sadly I wasn’t able to but I’m still happy with my performance here in the SEA Games,” she added.

Magno, who also competed in the 500m race on Tuesday but failed to advance, may not have had a coach but she did have some Filipinos come out to support her even as she skated at midday. The Quezon City native pulled from the small crowd who cheered after her name was called, some of them she said were from the hotel she was staying in.

She is eager to hear more Filipinos cheering the speed skating team on in two years when the Philippines hosts the 2019 SEA Games. By then, she is hopeful they will already have a coach and a training program in place.

“It’s a matter of our federation noticing that, hey there’s a team out here, we’re willing to work hard and put the Philippines on the map for our sport. It’s not just me anymore,” said Magno, adding she feels particularly proud of how far she came despite being alone in a competition like the SEA Games.

“Once we get the proper training and the coach there’s really nothing we can’t do.” – Rappler.com