The Light-Foot Sprinter

By| Juan Jose Parnaso

No pain, no gain, and no glory, Jonathan Librando said, RTU Captain

in Athletics. This is his passage line before settling in each hard fought
competitions inside and outside the campus. He believes that most of the
notable players started from nothing and had engaged in hard work and
determination to achieve greatness. He said that perseverance and hard
work always spells victory in every games.
Jonathan or Atan is a third year Bachelor of Science in Physical
Education (BSPE) student. He was born on the 8 th of April 1995 in Teresa,
Rizal. He is described by his fellow athletes as humble, kind, and charismatic
because he possesses an aura of a decent and respectful leader. Athletics
has always been his forte and in fact he was engaged with it since
elementary. He progressed even more as a runner in athletics under Coach
Elmer Reyes, RTU athletics coach who is a legendary icon in the said sport in
the country and who preaches and practices the truism that correct
continuous practice would likely result to perfection.
As he proudly suited up for the blue and gold uniform, he grabbed in
multiple gold and silver medals for surmounting SCUAA at his first two years
of SCUAA venture. He easily managed to surpass his capabilities because of
the hard effort and dedication of his coach. In 2014, his name Flash began
to write itself as he took full fight and surmount the University Games gold
medal. Like a running jaguar catching his pray, he is very dedicated to give
in all his best even in his training and in fact, his fastest time in his training is
100 meters run is 10.9 seconds.
Bridging to 2015, his name further soared as he took away two gold
medals in Philippine National Games and Philippine National Open. Atan was
unperturbed as he defeated all his opponents in the game. He said that he
will continue to give in his best and will dominate next competitions he will
settle until the moment he steps out in RTU.
Atan is also devoted to his education and he is conscious in his
academic performance. When asked about sports versus academics, he
prioritizes academics over sports despite how hard it is to merge training and
studies at the same time because his mind is consistently focused on
achieving his dreamsfinishing his studies in college and become a Physical
Education instructor in high school to further share his insights and inspire
students to be an athlete just like the way he was contemplated as one in

RTU. Studies talaga yung mangingibabaw kasi hindi naman pang habang
buhay yung sports, he said. He admitted that he likes teaching children
and helping them in enhancing their ability and skills which fits to their
desired sports. He foresee himself after ten years that he would be a coach
in RTU in return for his gratitude.
Like a wrestler taking a hard clothesline, Atan bump into many
obstacles and frustrations in life including his family. His commitment to his
atheletics put to the test when he was separated to his family. He admitted
that the welfare of his family never leaves his thoughts because he consider
his family everything to him. Merong time na gusto ko umuwi na lang at
tumulong sa mga magulang ko pag sunod-sunod yung mga problema at
kapag nakakaranas ng mga matitinding pag-subok, he said. In spite of all
these, he still insisted on inscribing his name in the list of pride and honors of
RTU.
Atan admitted that his first university choice was University of Rizal
System (URS), but through the hard effort of his coach in fourth year high
school to put him in university which rightfully fits for him that features
excellent education and will further improve his talent. He landed in RTU and
manage to emerge in athletics. He is grateful and thankful to RTU for giving
him the chance to study with free education that he badly sought and for
entrusting him as team captain in athletics.
When asked about his most embarrassing moment, he said that he
was stumbled face down immediately in the starting line of the game. But he
was able to cope up with his opponents and still easy manage to give his
best in that competition. He was only first year when that incident happened.
He messaged his fellow players to keep their best in each games and
to never turn their back on their training despite their difficulties in life and
when loss is experienced, just stay focus because even he experienced
downfalls. He said that never be afraid of failure because it will served as the
vital link to succeed in every competitions and even surmounting obstacles
in life.