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Southeast Asia's fastest Cray hopes for good showing in Rio

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/sports/8/6/cray-afp-080616.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Eric Shauwn Cray. AFP</div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - Filipino-American track star Eric Cray wants to put on a good show in Rio de Janeiro, and make it to the finals of the men&#x27;s 400-meter hurdles in his very first stint in the Olympic Games.Cray arrived from El Paso, Texas via Houston on Friday morning, and rested just a few hours before joining the Philippine delegation in the opening ceremony at the Maracaña Stadium.The Olongapo-born 27-year-old who grew up in the United States holds the record in the 400-meter hurdles in the Southeast Asian Games after finishing with a time of 49.40-seconds last year in Singapore.However, it is in the Olympics where Cray is hoping to make a good impression. He races on August 15, with the goal of reaching the finals on August 18.&quot;Hopefully, I get a good Rio showing so I can make it to the finals,&quot; said Cray. &quot;I feel real good.&quot;Cray admits that the feeling of competing in the Olympics has yet to sink in, but joining the opening ceremony helped him get into the groove.&quot;I wanted to let it sink in,&quot; he said. &quot;It still hasn&#x27;t hit me.&quot;Though he traveled 17 hours from El Paso, Cray is not anticipating any problems with jetlag as there is just a three-hour difference between Texas and Rio de Janeiro. It is funny for Cray, however, to travel 17 hours for a race that won&#x27;t last fifty seconds.&quot;The trip was pretty long, and I&#x27;d be racing like 50 or 49 seconds,&quot; said Cray.The fastest man in Southeast Asia is glad that races will be held morning in Rio, because he trained at the same time in Houston.&quot;It&#x27;s a morning race, and it&#x27;s pretty good because I&#x27;ve been practicing in the morning,&quot; said Cray, who adds that he &quot;feel(s) great&quot; coming into the packed Maracaña Stadium.He is looking forward to making the most of his Olympic experience, but surprisingly, not to seeing the world&#x27;s fastest man, Usain Bolt of Jamaica.&quot;I&#x27;ve seen him in a lot of meets,&quot; Cray said of Bolt. &quot;I&#x27;ve been used to it, so it&#x27;s not gonna be too exciting for me. I&#x27;m not gonna be too excited to see him.&quot;&quot;But definitely, I want to see some NBA players,&quot; he added. (For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website.</a>)

Filipino-American track star Eric Cray wants to put on a good show in Rio de Janeiro, and make it to the finals of the men's 400-meter hurdles in his very first stint in the Olympic Games.

Filipino-American track star Eric Cray wants to put on a good show in Rio de Janeiro, and make it to the finals of the men's 400-meter hurdles in his very first stint in the Olympic Games.