MANILA — Aerice Dormitorio, a 12-year-old from Quezon City, is the first gold medalist of the 2023 Batang Pinoy.

Emerging as the top cyclist in the tilt’s Girls Under-13 cycling event, the younger sibling of MTB (mountain bike) multi-medalist Ariana, completed the 30-minute, three-lap race in only 45 minutes and 48.4 seconds.

She outlasted eight other competitors to represent the Quezon City LGU squad.

“Masaya po. Meditate and prayers po kasama sa preparation ko,” said the Hope Integrated School student, who trained five hours a day, six days a week for her events.

Just like her older sister, Dormitorio is transitioning from mountain biking to road cycling and is also expected to participate in the ITT, MTB XCO, and XCE events to bolster her medal count in the cycling competition under the supervision of Philcycling.

Meanwhile, Yvaine Oasias and Ysabel Nicole Jamero of Iloilo bagged the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

In the boys’ division, Jhaykarl Ophir Macapagal Nuaez from Quezon City clinched the gold, while Kyle Jabat Florez of General Santos City and Marc Jerenz Atienza of Calapan secured the silver and bronze, respectively.

On the other hand, Matthew Diaz, the nephew of Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, won gold in the boys 12-under 37 kg weightlifting category.

Diaz, who participated in his first organized competition, lifted 41kg in the snatch and 55kg in the clean and jerk, and secured Rizal Province's first gold in the weightlifting event of the tilt.

“Nakaka-nerbiyos po kasi unang sali ko pa lamang po. Sinabihan lang po ako ni ate Hidilyn na huwag matakot at isipin ko po na nasa ensayo lang po ako kaya nakayanan ko,” shared the 12-year-old Diaz.

Zamboanga’s Adrian Bucol also flexed his might in the sport as he claimed the gold medal in the boys’ 12-Under Boys 32kg category.

“Pinaghandaan ko po talaga ang makasali dito sa Batang Pinoy,” expressed Bucol, who dedicated his win to his parents as he also aspires to become an Olympic medalist like Diaz.

He lifted 45kg in snatch and 58kg in clean and jerk.

FInally, the 3x3 basketball and swimming competitions set records in Batang Pinoy history, with 123 teams participating in 3x3 basketball for boys and girls, and 2,400 individual swimmers in the swimming events.

This year’s edition of Batang Pinoy features 25 sports, including kickboxing and breaking, which are making their debut in the PSC’s premier grassroots sports program.