VIGAN CITY – Athletes trained under Camp Victory Pangasinan (CVP) are unstoppable in their medal harvest in the ongoing Philippine Olympics Festival qualifying games being held at the Quirino Memorial Stadium here.

With a medal haul of 14 gold, eight silver and six bronze medals halfway through the games, the Pangasinan contingent appears headed for a very strong finish with CVP athletes leading the assault.

Pangasinan’s first gold was snared by Lany Cardona of Bolinao, who ran barefoot both in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter long runs. Another CVP runner, Vanessa Membrado of Umingan snatched a silver in the same events.

Ma. Teresa Caaya of Bolinao reigned supreme in the discuss throw, while Rochelle Corpuz of Burgos town topped all her rivals in the long jump event.

Former Palarong Pambansa sprint queen Rhemilyn Soriano of Laoac proved once more her sprinting prowess when she easily bagged the gold medal in her favorite event, the 100-meter dash, and added one more silver in the long jump.

Joebert Maraya of Umingan also won gold in the 100-meter men hurdles in the early stage of he games, while Maricris Carolino of Bolinao placed third in the 100-meter women hurdles.

Camp Victory Pangasinan is an innovative sports training program launched by Gov. Victor Agbayani in 2000.

The qualifying round was organized by the Philippine Olympic Committee and participated in by 10 provinces and three cities in northern and central Luzon and Cordillera Administrative Region. These are the provinces of Bulacan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Benguet, Ifugao, Tarlac and the cities of Angeles, Baguio and Olongapo. (Janet de Vera/CVP)