Justin Kobe Macario gave the Philippines its first gold medal at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. He triumphed in the men’s poomsae freestyle individual competition on Wednesday morning.
Macario impressed judges with a smooth and precise performance, finishing with a double spinning kick. He earned 8.20 points, narrowly ahead of Thailand’s Koedkaew Atchariya, who scored 8.10, and Malaysia’s Ken Haw Chin, who took third with 7.74.
“I didn’t expect to be the first gold medalist for the Philippines. I’m very happy and proud to bring home this medal,” Macario said.
The 23-year-old admitted he felt nervous because this was his first individual event at the SEA Games. He had only joined team events before.
Macario, a student at the University of Santo Tomas, finally earned his first SEA Games gold after winning silver in 2021 in Hanoi and bronze in 2023 in Cambodia.
His coach, Rani Ortega, also showed confidence in his performance. Macario said staying calm and believing in himself helped him succeed.
Earlier, Macario won a team gold and individual bronze at the Asian Championships, as well as a team bronze and mixed pair silver at the World Championships.
