ILOCOS NORTE – Trixia Arellano only hoped for one thing to mark her 11th birthday today: a gold medal in her debut at the 2025 Palarong Pambansa.
And under the scorching heat at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium in Ilocos Norte, the young runner fulfilled that promise she made to herself after reigning supreme in the elementary girls’ 200m dash.
But for her, it was more than just a win. Arellano said ruling the event was beyond just taking home a gold ware as it’s also making her loved ones proud as she hopes to help her family through the sport.
“Masaya po. Mama, maraming salamat sa inyo dahil kung hindi sa inyo hindi po ako makakarating dito. Kung hindi po sa kanila, wala po ako dito,” Arellano told GMA News Online in an interview following her successful run.
“Nagpapasalamat ako sa Panginoon kasi natupad po ‘yung wish ko sa birthday ko.”
[I’m happy. Mama, thank you because if not for you, I wouldn’t be able to reach this point. If not for them, I wouldn’t be here… I want to thank the Lord because my wish for my birthday came true.]
Arellano, who shared it was her mother who encouraged her to get into athletics, is hoping her victory could allow her to help support her parents and two siblings financially.
Arellano shared her father is a fisherman while her mother is a housewife taking care of her two younger siblings.
“Sinabihan ako ni mama na sumali kasi baka raw po may chance ako na makapag-Palaro. Nu’ng sumali po ako sunod-sunod na po ang panalo ko. Natupad na rin po ‘yung birthday [wish] ko na maging gold medalist ako sa Palaro,” she added.
“Pangarap ko po na mag-trabaho para makatulong sa pamilya. Pangarap ko po maging pulis para mahuli ko po ‘yung masasamang tao.”
[Mama said I should join because I might have a chance to compete in Palaro. When I joined, my wins came one after the other. My birthday wish came true also for me to become a gold medalist in Palaro… My dream is to work to be able to help my family. I want to become a police officer so I can catch bad people.]
—JMB, GMA Integrated News