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POC: Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the fencer, at new Tagaytay City Hall

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 05:25:26 GMT

A BRAND new indoor velodrome now cast a shadow over a similarly International Cycling Union (UCI)-grade BMX track, but perched in the heart of several other sports facilities that mark Tagaytay City as a world-standard sports hub is a glimmering stainless steel 12-foot statue of National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal clad in fencing gear greeting everyone at the main entrance of the new City Hall.

“It’s a tribute to our National Hero the sportsman, the athlete,” said Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, the outgoing mayor who’s left a legacy not only as an excellent leader of the world-famous city but as the father of all Philippine sports.

“We Filipinos know very well that Dr. Jose Rizal excelled in everything he engaged in and in sports, he was a fencer par excellance, a sharp shooter and if there were titles during his time, a grandmaster of ahedres—chess,” added Tolentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and PhilCycling.

A string of celebratory events marked the introduction of Dr. Rizal the fencer at City Hall—inauguration of the 250-meter wooden Tagaytay City Velodrome that helped highlight blessing ceremonies for more than a dozen brand new facilities including the modern-designed City Hall along Isaac Tolentino Avenue.

Tolentino brought members of the POC Executive Committee—onboard the city’s e-trikes—after their meeting at Papa Bolo Brewery and Restaurant before heading to the velodrome where close to 2,000 athletes, sports officials and Tagaytay City crowd witnessed the inauguration of the first of its kind—and one of a few in the Asean region—cycling facility.

On hand to lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Tolentino and Cavite’s first woman governor, Athena Tolentino, was Asian Cycling Confederation president Dato’ Amarjit Singh Gill as well as Philippine Paralympic Committee president Mike Barredo, Tagaytay City Vice Mayor Agnes Tolentino and Cavite Eighth District Rep. Aniela Tolentino.

Double Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Carlos Yulo and fellow medalist boxer Nesthy Petecio graced the event with POC officials and national sports association leaders.

Cycling: Oranza, Prado lead inauguration ceremony for Tagaytay City Velodrome

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 06:53:55 GMT

VETERANS Ronald Oranza and Jermyn Prado get the honor to formally be the first to ride the Tagaytay City Velodrome as Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and PhilCycling president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino inaugurates the brand new indoor cycling facility on Monday (June 23).

Oranza and Prado, both multiple medal winners in international competitions, will circle the 250-meter indoor and International Cycling Union-standard velodrome waving both the Philippine and PhilCycling flags during the ceremony that highlights the joint celebration of the Olympic and World Bicycle Day and Tagaytay City’s 87th Charter Day.

“This is to formally and officially announce the formal opening of the Tagaytay City Velodrome, the first of its kind in the country and one that’s of UCI standard,” said Tolentino, also the mayor of Tagaytay City which also has competition- and international-standard facilities for BMX Racing and Freestyle, Skateboarding and combat sports.

The celebration will be staged amid the postponement of the Baguio City-Tagaytay City PhilCycling Classic—a 292-km endurance road race among the top 30 finishers in last summer’s Tour of Luzon: The Great Revival—that was supposed to start at Camp John Hay and finish in front of the velodrome also on Monday.

The Baguio City-Tagaytay City PhilCycling Classic was moved to November 11 this year.

The weather has become unpredictable with scattered thunder storms and monsoon rains prevailing and with the Metro Pacific Tollsways Corp. expected to do unscheduled repairs in some sections of the North Luzon Expressway, the endurance classic had to be postponed.

San Miguel Corp. Infrastructure—operator of the TPLEX, Skyway and SLEX—has earlier welcomed the race on its expressways.

Come November 11, Tolentino said the rescheduled Baguio City-Tagaytay City PhilCycling Classic will highlight the Send Off and Pep Rally for Team Philippines to the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.

“We are setting the pace for a renaissance in Philippine cycling in track discipline and we’ll be marking our cyclists’ return to the velodrome in the SEA Games,” said Tolentino, who entered an entry in each of the men’s and women’s omnium in Thailand.

Also on Monday, the POC will oversee the signing of contracts for the Olympic Solidarity Scholarship and Grants Program with nine athletes signing up for training scholarships for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and 12 more for the Support Grant for Continental Athletes.

The Philippines last won two gold medals on the track in the SEA Games’ 2007 edition in Nakhon Ratchasima—Victor Espiritu in points race and Alfie Catalan in individual pursuit.

Big day on Monday (June 23) Baguio-Tagaytay classic, new velodrome inauguration and Olympic Day and World Bicycle Day celebration

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 06:41:40 GMT

A HISTORIC Baguio City to Tagaytay road classic, formal inauguration of the country’s first indoor velodrome and signing of pledges by Olympic Solidarity scholars mark the combined celebration of the Olympic Day and World Bicycle Day on Monday (June 23) in Tagaytay City.

“This is a historic first not only for the Olympic Movement but also for Philippine cycling,” said Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, president of both the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and PhilCycling and mayor of Tagaytay City, which is also celebrating on June 21 its 87th charter day.

First, according to Tolentino, is the breakthrough classic—one-day road race—from Camp John Hay in Baguio City to the finish line in front of the brand-new Tagaytay City Velodrome along Crisanto de los Reyes Avenue.

Second, the new track facility—an International Cycling Union (UCI)-standard 250-meter indoor and wooden velodrome—will be formally inaugurated and opened, and third, Olympic Solidarity scholars in various sports will sign their contracts under the guidance of the POC all in one day.

“It’s a celebration and perhaps, it’s the most unique in the world,” Tolentino said.

The Baguio-Tagaytay classic of the PhilCycling will cover a total of 288 kms and will pass through the major expressways—TPLEX, SCTEX, NLEX, Slyway, SLEX and CALLAX—feauturing the top 30 finishers in the MPTC Tour of Luzon last summer.

“It’s all about speed and endurance,” said Tolentino, as he thanked the collaboration of sports patrons and business tycoons Manuel V. Pangilinan and Ramon S. Ang and the MPTC, San Miguel Corp. Infrastructure, Camp John Hay and Duckworld PH for the milestone classic.

The Tagaytay City Velodrome, according to Tolentino, will mark the resurgence of Philippine track cycling—a cycling disciplie that offers the most number of gold medals at 10 events for men and women.

“We have confirmed our participation in the track events of cycling at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December,” Tolentino said. “This is to get the wheels rolling for the new velodrome which we anticipate to be one of the velodrome hubs in Asia.”

The PhilCyclign will field men and women riders to the omnium event in the 33rd edition of the SEA Games Thailand is hosting in December.

Tolentino on Tagaytay velodrome: If you build, they will come

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 04:38:51 GMT

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee and cycling federation president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino inspects two bikes of the Thailand cycling association headed by General Decha Hemkasri.

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino has started combing the region to secure track bikes as the cycling federation president turned to aggressive mode to complete what’s needed for the Tagaytay City Velodrome—the country’s first indoor track cycling facility of International Cycling Union (UCI) standard.

“If you build, they will come,” said Tolentino, borrowing a famous line from the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” starred by Kevin Costner where a cornfield was transformed into a baseball field fit for the players in the majors to play on.

Tagaytay City isn’t close to resembling a cornfield but the top tourist destination known for its cool weather and majestic view of the Taal Volcano has become the cycling hub of the Philippijnes.

“Road cycling? We got technical and treacherous climbs. BMX? We got the UCI-homologated BMX Racing track, the only one in the country. Freestyle? We got the park right beside the BMX track,” said Tolentino, also the mayor of Tagaytay City.

Tolentino is currently in Bangkok for the Southeast Asian Games Federation meeting for this December’s 33rd edition of the regional games and while there, he connected with his counterpart, Thai cycling federation president General Decha Hemkasri, on the purchase of track bikes for the velodrome that will be inaugurated later this month as part of the Tagaytay City Foundation Anniversary celebrations.

“It’s a dream, not only to make Tagaytay City as a cycling and sports hub, but to help bring back the glory the Philippines enjoyed in the past,” said Tolentino, adding that the national federation for the sport, PhilCycling, will be fielding two men and one woman cyclists for the Thailand SEA Games omnium event.

“Pardon the pun, but we are on track,” he added.

With the new velodrome, the Philippines now ranks alongside Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, South Korea and India as Asian countries with such facility.

The velodrome was built by the Canadian company Junek Velodrome, whose owner, Peter Junek, is one of only three designers in the world recognized by the UCI.

The 250-meter wooden track had a 7.1-meter width and is designed to provide optimal conditions for high-speed cycling with steep embankments on each end.

Tolentino turns over brand new homes to Yulo, Petecio and Villegas in Tagaytay City

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 06:09:39 GMT

Aira Villegas (left), Fr. Eugenio Lopez, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Carlos Yulo, and Nesthy Petecio

PARIS Olympics double gold medalist gymnast Carlos Yulo now has a property in Tagaytay City and so do bronze medalist Aira Villegas.

Nesthy Petecio? The other boxing bronze medalist in Paris now has a second home in the city where Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino is mayor.

“They deserve these homes, they’re not only our Olympic heroes, all of them are national treasures,” said Tolentino, who on Sunday turned over the keys to the Olympic medalists’ homes at the Prime Peak Town House subdivision in Barangay Silang Crossing West.

Yulo, winner of the men’s floor exercise and vault gold in Paris, was rewarded a two-storey home that sits on a 500-square meter lost, while his neighbor, Villegas will now have a getaway in the cool city atop a ridge that would very soon boast of the country’s first indoor and wood UCI-standard velodrome.

The house-and-lot—which according to POC secretary-general Atty. Wharton Chan is worth P15 million—also came as a belated birthday gift from Tolentino, Tagaytay City and the POC for Yulo who turned 25 last February 16.

Villegas’s new two-storey home is on a 200-meter lot in the same village, same with Petecio, who was rewarded a house—just like fellow medalists Hidilyn Diaz Naranjo, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Felix Marcial—in Barangay San Jose for clinching a silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“I’m very grateful and feeling blessed to receive this house-and-lot and I’m on thankful how the POC helped us in our Olympic preparations in Paris,” Yulo told reporters during the house blessing officiated by Fr. Eugenio Lopez.

Weightlifter Diaz-Naranjo has her own Tagaytay City home at the Isabel Heights in Barangay Kaybagal Central also courtesy of Tolentino for winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.

“This is what we've been doing since I became POC president—to keep the athletes inspired to win more medals for our country,” Tolentino said.

Villegas said she’ll surely be in Tagaytay City during breaks from her training in Baguio City and when going home to her native Tacloban City won’t be viable.

Petecio, on the other hand, decided to settle in her brand new home.

“I will be living here in this house with my brother and family and we’ll rent out our first house here to,” said Petecio, now 32 but still in hot pursuit of a gold medal in Los Angeles 2028.

Aira VillegasPhilippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Carlos Yulo, Nesthy Petecio, and Fr. Eugenio Lopez.

Tolentino, POC give incentives to gold medal-winning curling team

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 01:24:22 GMT

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (third from left) with (from left) coaches Jessica Pfister and Miguel Gutierrez,, Marc Pfister, Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller and Curling Pilipinas playing president Benjo Delarmente.

THE gold medal won in the Ninth Asian Games is priceless but nevertheless, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) went from extremely appreciative to humbly generous by rewarding each member of the successful men’s curling team with cash incentives before flying back to Switzerland on Monday.

POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino refused to let go of the team without having a pre-flight lunch at the New World Hotel in Makati City where each received $5,000 as incentive from the POC Executive Board.

“The incentive may not parallel their effort and dedication—and even the expenses they personally incurred—but it’s one small way for the POC to show its gratitude to the team,” Tolentino said.

From Harbin, the team of Marc Pfister, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister, Alen Frei, alternate and Curling Pilipinas president Benjo Delarmente and Pfister’s wife Jessica flew in to be briefly honored by the POC, which pampered the winter sports history-making team at the Knights Templar Hotel in Tagaytay City.

Before officially competing under the country’s colors as a fully-recognized member of the POC, the Swiss-based team made considerably huge investments for their campaign in international competitions ahead of the Harbin games.

“It’s no joke funding your own participation in international events specifically a blue-chip sport like curling,” Tolentino said.

As the team and the country savors the successful stint in Harbin, Tolentino said serious steps for the team—and other winter sports athletes—to qualify for next year’s Milano Cortina Winter Olymoics are now being undertaken.

“The path to Milano Cortina has become clearer, and on to our goal of a first Winter Olympics medal,” Tolentino said.

History on ice as Philippine curlers win first ever winter games gold medal

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 01:19:31 GMT

Philippine men’s curling team celebrates after winning historic first ever Southeast Asia’s gold medal in winter games.

HARBIN, China – The Philippines saved the best for last in the last day of the ninth Asian Winter Games on Friday morning just a few hours before the closing ceremony as the country’s top men’s curling team gave the Filipinos their first ever gold medal in the winter games.

Skipper Marc Pfister along with brother second Enrico Pfister, vice skipper Christian Haller, lead Alan Frei showed nerves of steel in the last seventh and eighth ends to outplay erstwhile unbeaten South Korea, 5-3, in the final to bag the historic gold medal here at the Pingfang Curling Arena.

“Gold medal for Team Philippines, and we expected ourselves to win. It is a great game, and we never doubt ourselves,” the 35-year-old Filipino-Swiss Pfister, who played the sport curling for 26 years, said. “It’s not just only a medal, bronze or silver, but a gold.”

Inspired by her 16-week pregnant wife Jessica Pfister that served as the team men’s coach, Marc also said that he was motivated and inspired by her upcoming first born baby and wife for joining him in their journey in the Asian winter games.

The Philippine men’s curling team formed by Curling Pilipinas President Benjo Delarmente and Secretary-General Jarryd Bello started the match really well by taking a 3-1 cushion although the World’s No. 7 South Korea mounted a comeback to tie the match to 3-3 after the sixth end.

Despite South Korea’s threatening comeback, the No. 51 Filipinos stayed calm and composed to claim the last two ends with one point each, then becoming the first ever country in Southeast Asia to win a gold in the winter games just a few days after Thailand settled for the first winter bronze medal.

The Filipinos are now the best performing Southeast Asian nations in the 34-country winter games.

“We are so proud of this milestone, and I would like to thank our fellow Southeast Asian nations as well for congratulating us –Filipinos – for winning the first ever gold of Southeast Asia in the winter games,” Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said.

“Two days ago, Thailand won Southeast Asia’s first ever medal – bronze – through one of their alpine skiers,” Tolentino said, referring to Thai-French Paul Henri Vieuxtemps who bagged the men’s freeski slopestyle bronze medal in Yabuli, 229 kilometers away to Harbin City, last Tuesday.

After finishing the round robin with a 4-1 win-loss slate for a qualification spot, the Filipinos blasted No. 10 Japan in the qualification phase, 10-4, on Thursday morning before narrowly beating host No. 17 China, 7-6, in the evening’s semifinal.

The only loss of the Filipinos came from South Korea, 1-6, during round robin last Saturday.

The Philippines sent a total of 19 athletes in the Asian Winter Games that competed in five sporting disciplines – alpine skiing, curling, figure skating, short track speed skating and freestyle skiing.

And none of them made it to the podium except for the men’s curling team in the last day of the competition after surprisingly and historically capturing the gold medal in China’s coldest northernmost Heilongjiang province.

The curling mixed doubles team of Marc Pfister and Kathleen Dubberstein was just good enough for fourth place last Saturday, while the women’s curling team didn’t qualify for the qualification spot.

Short track speed skater Peter Groseclose didn’t qualify for the semifinal of all his events – 500 meters, 1,500m and 1000m, while women’s figure skaters Sofia Frank and Cathryn Limketkai finished 12th and ninth, respectively, while Paolo Borromeo ranked 10th in the men’s figure skating.

The pair of Isabella Gamez and Aleksander Korovin placed fourth overall, Alpine skier Tallulah Proulx ended 16th in the women’s slalom contest, Francis Ceccarelli was disqualified in the men’s slalom after a wrong turn, and 15-year-old Laetaz Amihan Rabe placed sixth and last in her two events – women’s freeski slopestyle and freeski big air events.

Philippine men’s curling team celebrates after winning historic first ever Southeast Asia’s gold medal in winter games.

Bambol meets Dave in Harbin

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 01:13:27 GMT

David Lappartient (left) and Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino (right)

ABRAHAM “BAMBOL” TOLENTINO and David Lappartient—both presidents of their respective national Olympic committee (NOC) and cycling federation—met in Harbin on Friday and discussed significant topics bordering on their sport and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“From a casual conversation—hellos and how are you?—to the more significant topics concerning cycling and the forthcoming IOC presidential elections,” said Tolentino, president of both the Philippine Olympic Committee and PhilCycling, from China during the opening ceremony of the Harbin Ninth Asian Winter Games.

“As an active national federation of the UCI [International Cycling Union, which Lappartient heads as president], Dave [Lappartient] conscientiously asked about cycling in the Philippines and expressed full support to our track program,” Tolentino said. “He was just too happy to learn that an indoor UCI-standard velodrome in Tagaytay City will be operational in a few months.”

A velodrome is being built in Tagaytay City, where Tolentino is the mayor, and is expected to be operational by the middle of the year—the facility replaces the concrete and outdoor Amoranto Velodrome which the Quezon City government reportedly intends to demolish to give way to a football field.

“Dave also got serious about the IOC elections in March, stressing on his program for the world’s top sporting organization,” Tolentino said.

Lappartient, who heads France’s NOC, is one of seven candidates vying for the position that Thomas Bach will vacate after 12 years—the election is on March 21 in Olympia, Greece.

“We’re hoping and praying for Dave to win that election, and I personally believe he’s the most capable to lead the Olympic movement,” Tolentino said.

Lappartient traces his serious involvement with cycling to the Philippines when in 1995, he was a young member of the commissaires panel that supervised the country’s hosting of the Asian road and track championships at Amoranto and Subic.

He flew into Harbin from Bangkok where he witnessed the elections of the Asian Cycling Confederation last Thursday.

Tolentino leads 20-athlete team to Harbin Asian Winter Games

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:56:26 GMT

Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino flies to Harbin on Tuesday to lead a 20-athlete delegation that will see action in the Ninth Asian Winter Games.

“I believe our winter sport athletes can deliver, not in terms of medals, but in terms of the exposure and experience that’s needed as we also put weight on our thrust for the Winter Olympics,” said Tolentino on Monday.

The Harbin Games start with Friday’s opening ceremony at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center and will close on February 14.

The 20 athletes headed for Harbin, China’s foremost winter destination, is the biggest so far for the Philippines, according to Tolentino, who also announced that snowboarder Adrian Lee Tongko suffered a knee injury while training in Hakuba in Japan and won’t be with the team anymore.

Team Philippines is composed of Francis Ceccarelli and Tallulah Proulx in slalom of Alpine skiing, Laetaz Amihan Rabe in free ski slopestyle, big air and halfpipe of snowboarding, as well as short-track speed skater Peter Groseclose, figure skating pair of Isabella Gamez and Alexander Korovin and figure skaters Paolo Borromeo, Cathryn Limketkai and Sofia Frank.

Joining them are the men’s curling team of Benjo Delarmente, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and Marc Pfister and the women’s squad of Anne Bonache, Kathleen Dubberstein, Leilani Dubberstein, Sheila Mariano and Jessica Pfister also of curling.

A total of 1,275 athletes from 34 countries are seeing action in 64 events in 11 sports—alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country, curling, figure skating, freestyle skating, ice hockey, short track speed skating, ski mountaineering, snowboarding and speed skating—in Harbin.

“We are optimistic and confident this team would get all the honing opportunities that would help them qualify for next year’s Winter Olympics,” Tolentino said. “We’ve already succeeded in winning gold medals in the Summer Olympics, and the thrust is to win medals in the Winter Olympics.”

Italy will host the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina from February 6 to 22 next year in Milano Cortina.

Ricky Lim is the chef de mission in Harbin.

Jim Apelar, president of Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation (PSSF), received the bad news on Tongko’s knee from his coach Kevin Bernier.

“Kevin [Bernier] told me the swelling did not subside, so, Kevin feels that he may only hurt himself more competing with a swollen right knee,” Apelar said. “He had a bad fall, unfortunately just few days from the competition.”

Key appointments made in POC General Assembly - Tolentino

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 10:21:18 GMT

RICKY VARGAS was named chef de mission to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and Al Panlilio will handle the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games as the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) made key appointments during its first General Assembly for the year on Wednesday at the East Ocean Seafood Restaurant in Paranaque City.

Also appointed, according to POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino were Rep. Richard Gomez for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Dr. Jose Raul Canlas for the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand and Stephen Arapoc for the Chengdu 2025 World Games.

“The objective is to prepare our teams—and athletes—in earnest for the international competitions, that’s why the chefs de mission were appointed,” Tolentino said. “If we prepare early, there will be no excuses.”

Richard Lim of karate is chef de mission to the Asian Winter Games in Harbin that starts February 7 to 14 while the a ched de mission has yet to be named for the Third Asian Youth Olympics Games from October 22 to 31 in Bahrain.

Vargas is a former POC president and currently chairman of the boxing federation, Panlilio (basketball) and Gomez (modern pentathlon) are the incumbent first and second vice presidents, respectively, and Canlas (surfing) treasurer of the organization, while Arapoc heads the wushu association.

The SEA Games will be played December 9 to 20 this year in Chonburi, Songkhla and Bangkok, and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are set February 6 to 22, Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from September 19 to October 4 in 2026. The Los Angeles Olympics are from July 14 to 30, 2028.

Former football president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta was appointed as ethics committee chairman while Atty. Daniel Hofileña, a non-POC member, will head the arbitration committee.

Tolentino said the POC General Assembly also approved the 2025 working budget of P35 million which is P8 million less than last year’s because of the Paris Olympics preparations and participation.

Tolentino and his secretary-general Atty. Wharton Chan also announced that the POC made a P15 million savings last year.

POC sets stage for 1st Winter Olympics medal in Harbin Games - Tolentino

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 10:15:10 GMT

THE country is fielding a 20-athletes team to the ninth edition of the Asian Winter Games that China is hosting for the third time from February 7 to 14 in the winter resort city of Harbin. The mission? To start setting the stage for a first-ever Winter Olympics medal for the Philippines.

“We’ve already accomplished the dream in the Summer Olympics—three gold medals in consecutive games,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino on New Year’s Day Wednesday. “And that dream we want to also achieve in the Winter Olympics.”

There are no available accurate records as to how many Filipino winter sports athletes competed in the first eight editions of the Asian Winter Games, but Tolentino believed the team to Harbin should be the biggest thus far. “And our athletes are competing in six of the 11 sports on the Harbin program,” Tolentino said. Curling, now one of the most-watched winter sports discipline, will have the most number of athletes in Harbin with 10 athletes— Marc Angelo Pfister, Enrico Gabriel Pfister, Christian Patrick Haller, Alan Beat Frei, Jessica Pfister, Benjo Delarmente, Kathleen Dubberstein, Leilani Dubberstein, Sheila Mariano and Anne Marie Bonache.

The Curling Winter Sports of the Philippines was established late last year to organize the discipline’s ranks with the new group joining Philippine Skating Union and Philippine Ski and Snowboarding Association in the POC roster.

The other members of Team Philippines managed by chef de mission Richard Lim are Paolo Borromeo, Aleksandr Korovin, Cathryn Limketkai, Isabella Marie Gamez and Sofia Lexi Jacqueline Frank in figure skating; Francis Ceccarelli and Talullah Proulx in Alpine skiing; Laetaz Amihan Rabe in freestyle skiing; Peter Joseph Groseclose in short track speed skating and Adrian Tongco in snowboarding Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo won the Philippines’ first Summer Olympics gold medal in Tokyo 2020 and gymnast Carlos Yulo captured two gold medals in Paris 2024, both under Tolentino’s watch at the POC.

“The Winter Olympics are as extremely tough as the Summer Olympics, but we have proven that it could be done,” Tolentino vowed. Italy will host the 25th edition of the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo from February 6 to 22 next year.

Sixty-four events will be contested in Harbin, which was host in 1996, the second time after Changchun 2007 where China first organized the games.

Japan has been the dominant team in the games, followed by China and Kazakhstan.

Cignal TV partners with POC to provide extensive coverage for PH Athletes leading to Paris 2024

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 10:55:24 GMT

Cignal TV and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) are joining forces for the official launch of Isang Daang Taon Laban Para sa Bayan: Celebrating 100 Years of Filipino Excellence in the Olympics.

The campaign will kick off the country’s campaign for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics where the Philippines is seeking to snare medals and achieve more glory in France.

“Cignal TV has always believed in the skills and talent of the Filipino athlete and this partnership only reiterates our commitment to them. We want them to know that we’re with them every step of the way,” said Cignal TV and MediaQuest President & CEO Jane J. Basas.

“We’re honored to have Cignal TV be our gracious partner for the Paris-bound athletes and this early, we have high hopes of another memorable showing in the Olympics,” said POC President Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino.

This isn’t just any other Olympics for the Philippines as this also marks 100 years of participation for the country in the quadrennial meet. Runner David Nepomuceno was the first Filipino to qualify for the Olympics, participating in the 1924 Paris Games.

A century later, the country is banking on our proud representatives spearheaded by pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo, weightlifter Vanessa Sarno, and boxers Eumir Marcial and Nesthy Petecio as Team Philippines once again tests itself with the best athletes in the globe.

From the buildup in their preparations and training, their respective campaigns, and the aftermath of their performance, Cignal TV will be there chronicling the journey of the Filipino athlete through our comprehensive news coverage which will be aired and featured on the various MediaQuest platforms, primarily on Cignal TV platforms including Free-to-Air and Pay TV, and on digital and social media through One Sports, One News, and News5.

The Philippines is coming off a historic performance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where Hidilyn Diaz became the country’s first ever gold medalist, with Petecio also taking home silver, and Marcial and Carlo Paalam bagging bronze medals.

Soaring to New Heights: EJ Obiena Breaks Asian Record, Clinches Gold at 19th Asian Games

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 07:42:41 GMT

Ernest John "EJ" Obiena gave the whole nation hope as he claimed the first gold medal for the Philippines in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Obiena's remarkable journey unfolded at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, where he dazzled with a record-smashing performance in the pole vault finals.

The anticipation was palpable as Obiena soared to an astonishing 5.75 meters, leaving his competitors in awe. Yet, he wasn't done there. In a breathtaking display, he shattered the Asian Games record of 5.7 meters and secured the gold with a spectacular 5.9-meter leap, igniting celebrations among Filipino supporters in the stands, including Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Bambol Tolentino, Chef de Mission Richard Gomez, and athletics' chief Terry Capistrano.

In a heartwarming gesture, Obiena attempted to break his own Asian record of 6 meters, aiming to gift his coach, Vitaly Petrov, a fitting birthday present. Though he narrowly missed this feat, his outstanding achievement marked a historic moment for Philippine athletics. This victory was the Philippines' first gold medal in athletics in 37 years since Lydia de Vega's 100-meter triumph at the Seoul Asiad. It also represented the first athletics medal in 29 years, dating back to Elma Muros' bronze in the long jump at the 1994 Hiroshima Games.

Obiena's remarkable journey has made him a superstar and a source of inspiration for his fellow athletes. His training partners, including China's Huang Bokai and Saudi Arabia's Hussain al Hizam, acknowledged his immense contributions to their progress and expressed their desire to challenge him in the future.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Bambol Tolentino summed up the nation's sentiments, stating, "EJ never ceases to amaze us." Obiena's extraordinary achievement in pole vaulting has left an indelible mark on Asian Games history, and his gold medal is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of an athlete who has truly reached the sky's limit.

ANOC World Beach Games 2023 Cancelled: Indonesia's Withdrawal Stuns Sports Community

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 02:14:04 GMT

Budget Woes Derail ANOC World Beach Games in Bali, Leaves Athletes and Fans Disheartened

Regrettably, ANOC has received unexpected and disheartening news regarding the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games, initially set to be hosted by the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI). The KOI has withdrawn its commitment to organize the ANOC World Beach Games and the ANOC General Assembly, slated for August 2023.

This sudden decision, delivered merely a month before the Games commenced, has left ANOC in a challenging position. With insufficient time to secure an alternate host, the unfortunate outcome is canceling this year's edition of the Games in Bali and the ANOC General Assembly. Future arrangements for the General Assembly, including new dates and locations, will be communicated as soon as available.

ANOC sincerely apologizes to the affected NOCs, athletes, and International Federations (IFs) who had steadfastly supported the event. The organization also extends its regrets to fans across the globe.

Despite the inherent challenges in the preparations for such a multifaceted event, ANOC had been continually assured by KOI that viable solutions were underway and that the Games would proceed according to plan. Regular coordination meetings between ANOC and KOI were held, with the most recent occurring just last week. KOI did not indicate any imminent issues that could lead to this outcome.

In this unfortunate circumstance, ANOC's immediate focus lies in supporting the athletes and ensuring that the affected NOCs and IFs are appropriately compensated given the unforeseen cancellation of the Games.

The original statement appeared here.

POC Celebrates Olympic Day 2023: A Day of Camaraderie, Inclusivity, and Sportsmanship

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 02:07:03 GMT

With this year's theme, "Let's Move," POC is one with the nation to keep moving forward together, overcoming challenges.

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) celebrated Olympic Day on June 23, 2023, at the University of the Philippines (UP) Track and Field Oval in Diliman, Quezon City. POC President Abraham Tolentino and members of the Philippine Olympian Association, Special Olympics Philippines, and other sports stakeholders led the event.

The celebration kicked off with a fun run, followed by a series of sports activities, such as basketball, volleyball, and taekwondo. There were also educational seminars on the Olympic Movement and its values.

POC stressed the importance of Olympic Day in promoting physical activity and sportsmanship among Filipinos. He also urged the youth to dream big and strive to represent the Philippines in the Olympics one day.

The POC's celebration of Olympic Day was a success, and it helped to raise awareness of the Olympic Movement in the Philippines. The event also served as a platform for young athletes to showcase their talents and inspire others to participate in sports.

The 31st SEA Games Highlights

gladjacinto@gmail.com (Glad Jacinto) — Wed, 25 May 2022 01:13:11 GMT

And just like that, the 31st edition of the Southeast Asian Games has officially concluded.

Let’s take a quick look at this year’s highlights.

We clinched our first gold medal even before the opening ceremony from the Pencak Silat team courtesy of Francine Padios in the Women's Artistic Single event.

Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena lead the Philippine delegation in the parade of nations as the country’s flag bearer. The Philippine Olympic Committee recommended both Obiena and fellow Olympian Hidilyn Diaz share the task but the event organizer only allowed one flag bearer per country, to which Diaz agreed it should be Obiena.

The athletes immediately got back to action after the opening ceremony with the country continuing to pile up the medals.

Breaking records and ending the drought

Gymnast Carlos Yulo is the most bemedaled Filipino athlete for two consecutive SEA Games.

Yulo’s outstanding run resulted in five gold medals in the men’s division of individual all-around, floor exercise, still rings, vault, and high bar. He got two more silver in the parallel bars and the men’s artistic gymnastics team together with Jan Gwynn Timbang, Juancho Miguel Besana Eserio, John Ivan Cruz, Justine Ace de Leon, and John Matthew Vergara.

While he got the same number of medals in 2019, he has more gold medals this round.

EJ Obiena remained at the top of the men’s pole vault category and reset his own SEA Games record to 5.46 meters in a single attempt.

The Philippine women’s football team ended a 37-year medal drought after a thrilling 2-1 comeback win over Myanmar. The last was in 1985.

When it rains… After eleven years, we bagged gold again in bowling with Merwin Tan’s singles win and another with Patrick Neil Nuqui, Ivan Dominic Malig, and Christian Dychangco in the men’s team of four-event.

In Esports, we closed our first women’s gold in the League of Legends: Wild Rift (Mobile) - Women Team Event.

Kim Manrobang swept the duathlon and triathlon golds, her third consecutive in women’s triathlon. Manrobang with Fernando Casares in the men’s division swept the triathlon golds.

Swimmer Chloe Isleta ended our decades-long gold drought in the women’s category.

Weightlifter Vanessa Sarno shattered all three SEA Games records in the women’s 71kg.

Other highlights

The athletics team brought in the most number of medals with over 20 in total followed by the dancesport and gymnastics teams; gymnast Aleah Finnegan contributed two golds and two silvers in her SEA Games debut.

Eumir Marcial bagged his fourth straight SEA Games gold after beating Delio Anzaqeci Mouzinho of Timor Leste in the men’s -75kg finals.

Rubilen Amit from the billiards team got a couple of gold medals in the 9-ball and 10-ball pool events.

Gilas Pilipinas men finished their latest SEA Games tournament with a silver medal after the loss to Indonesia. The loss ends a 13 consecutive gold streak.

The Philippine team closed its SEA Games run in 4th place, and the host country, Vietnam, won the top spot for the Southeast Asian Games.

OS Paris 2024 Scholars

Boxer Rogen Ladon got his first gold after beating Tran Van Thao of Vietnam in the men’s -52kg finals.

Samantha Cantantan won gold in women’s foil and another silver with Maxine Isabel Esteban, Wilhelmina Lozada, and Justine Gail Tinio in the women’s foil team event.

Olympian Elreen Ando finished with silver in the women's 64kg event in weightlifting.

Roanne Malixi together with Mafy Singson, and Lois Kaye Go bagged bronze in the women’s golf team event.

What comes ahead

Here’s to hoping that we build from all the wins, and it’s not necessarily just in terms of medals, and come back stronger in the next competition.

References:

https://www.rappler.com/sports/carlos-yulo-cash-incentives-sea-games-may-2022/

https://www.rappler.com/sports/updates-sea-games-may-22-2022/

https://www.rappler.com/topic/sea-games/

https://www.forbes.com/profile/carlos-yulo/?sh=350fb84b295a

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2022/05/14/2181095/kim-mangrobang-cops-3rd-straight-gold-complete-philippines-sweep-sea-games-triathlon

https://www.rappler.com/sports/results-kim-mangrobang-women-duathlon-sea-games-may-15-2022/

https://www.rappler.com/sports/results-philippines-triathlon-sea-games-may-14-2022/

https://www.rappler.com/sports/gilas-pilipinas/heartbreak-sea-games-hanoi-vietnam-this-is-on-samahang-basketbol-pilipinas/

Team Pilipinas all set for SEA Games 2021

gladjacinto@gmail.com (Glad Jacinto) — Sat, 07 May 2022 14:49:58 GMT

Six months after its original schedule, the 31st edition of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 2021) is finally happening. The event officially starts on May 12 and until May 23.

The Philippines is sending more than 600 athletes across 40 sports, headlined by the country’s first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz.

Our basketball team is going after their 14th consecutive and 19th overall SEA Games (gold) medal. The 12-man Gilas Pilipinas will be led by brothers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena with six-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo.

Outside hitter Alyssa Valdez of women’s volleyball has foregone her final spot in a local reality show to play for her country.

World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo is out to add to his collection of continental titles.

In 2019, the Philippines came out on top of the Esports competitions, with Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore among the medalists. The team hopes to replicate it for this run.

In athletics, sprinter Kristina Knot will not be able to defend her 200m title after she suffered a foot injury just before the Games. Twins Kyla and Kayla Richardson from the track team will be able to compete, which is welcome news. Finally, pole-vaulter EJ Obiena aims to beat his own SEA Games record of 5.45m. Obiena will also be the country’s flag-bearer at the Opening Ceremony on May 12.

Some competitions started yesterday, May 6. Both the Men’s Beach Handball and Men’s Football teams swept their respective opponents in their first matches. The beach handball team was 2-0 against Thailand, while the men’s football team closed at 4-0 over Timor Este.

Hopefully, it sets the tone for the games to come.

Asa Miller: Filipino skier, sole hope of the nation for Beijing

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 01:35:42 GMT

After the success of the Filipino athletes in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, capped off by the first gold medal of the country, another athlete is aiming to make the Philippines proud in the upcoming Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing. Filipino-American skier Asa Miller is the sole representative of the Philippines in this iteration of the Winter Olympics and he will compete in the men’s giant slalom and men’s slalom events.

Miller was introduced to the sport of skiing by his American father Kelly when he was just two years old. However, it was not until he was 16 that he became serious and focused full time on the sport. He debuted for the Philippines in the 2018 Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang, South Korea where he finished 70th out of 110 competitors. By qualifying for the Pyeongchang games, Miller became the first Filipino skier in the Olympics since Michael Teruel competed in the 1992 Albertville Games in France and by appearing in the Beijing games in 2022, Miller became the first Filipino skier to appear in two Winter Olympic games.

That experience made qualifying for the Olympics this time around much easier according to the Portland, Oregon native. “The qualifying process for this time was much easier for myself, since I knew I had the ability to easily meet the same qualifications I did 4 years prior.”, he said.

Since his experience in the Pyeongchang, Miller dedicated more of his time to skiing to become as elite an athlete in his sport as possible, dropping all of his other sports, most notably baseball.

During this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, while many sports were hit hard by restrictions, Miller said that training for skiing did not face that many challenges as the sport is held outdoors and in the mountains. This allowed him to train non stop even amidst the global pandemic and he is ready to hit the slopes in Beijing.

“I feel like I’ve matured heavily and have fine tuned my abilities as well. Going into the competitions next week, I feel like I’m more suited to deal with the pressure of being at a world class event like this and am set to perform my best”, he said.

Miller is competing in a sport that is not well known in the Philippines, a tropical country that never experiences snow. Asked why he fell in love with the sport, he highlighted the immense pressure to perform and the individuality of the sport where the skier alone can control his fate and thus makes it an all or nothing sport according to Miller. He also highlighted the cutthroat system of judging the season performance of the skier.

“Few sports judge athletes based on their best two results in a given season, and I think it makes skiing special and highlights just how hard it is to do it well every day.”, Miller said.

Despite not getting much national attention from the Philippines, Miller is immensely proud to represent the country. “I’m very proud to represent the Philippines, despite it being an unorthodox sport for the country. It’s given me many different opportunities to meet people and spread Filipino pride and my story along with it. I hope to be the first of many more skiers to come.”, Miller said.

Miller, the son of an American father and a Filipino mother, hopes to make the country proud when he competes on February 13 for the giant slalom and February 16 for the slalom event.

His message to Filipino fans?

“Thank you to everyone who has shown support! I’m extremely proud to have held the flag in the opening ceremony and I hope to follow that up with a strong performance in the competitions next week!”, Miller said.

After Strong Tokyo Showing, Elreen Ando looks forward to Paris 2024

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 08:59:26 GMT

It has been almost two months since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics concluded, with the Philippine athletes providing a strong showing. With 4 medals garnered from the 19 strong athlete contingent, the Philippines showed that it is a powerhouse in the world of sports, particularly in boxing where Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, and Carlo Paalam each brought home a medal.

The biggest news of course for the Philippines is that the country finally achieved its first Olympic gold medal courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz. Her performance captivated the sporting world, most especially the Philippine audience as her last second attempt and subsequent celebratory scream secured the Philippines first gold.

Lost amidst Hidilyn’s achievement however was the Philippines’ second weightlifter in the tournament, Cebuana Elreen Ando who made her debut in Tokyo. The 22-year-old achieved a 7th place finish in the women’s 64kg event with a 100kg snatch and a 122kg clean and jerk for a total of 222kg in Tokyo.

It was a strong showing which bodes well for her future in the sport and the next in line of strong athletes in weightlifting for the Philippines.

Ando got her start in weightlifting when a coach, who was also one of her neighbors, started training her techniques and the scientific approach and from then on she reached the Olympic team only two years ago.

Training for Tokyo was difficult for Ando, just like every athlete, as her normal routine was disrupted by the pandemic when everyone was stuck in their own training areas as there was limited transportation due to travel restrictions in place. Ultimately, however, Ando reached Tokyo where she put up a good fight against the best athletes in her division.

Nowadays, Ando is already starting her preparations for the Paris Olympics in 2024 where she hopes to garner the gold medal in her class. Ando will take part in tournaments starting this year as every tournament from here until Paris is considered part of the qualification process.

Ando is also looking forward to building up weightlifting in the country as she is also encouraging other participants in her native Cebu so that possibly there would be more representatives for the Philippines. She also says that Philippine sports is getting stronger as there are more and more athletes in different sports who are strong contenders for Olympic slots in Paris.

Lastly, Ando wanted to thank everyone for all the support not only for her but also for the entire Philippine contingent that represented the country in Tokyo.

Tokyo Paralympic Games PH Athletes Update

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 07:13:06 GMT

Somewhat lost in the Philippine euphoria about the country’s excellent showing in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games is the country’s participation in the 2020 Summer Paralympics. The Paralympics is the major international sports competition for athletes and disabilities and it is always held in the same year and venue of the Summer Olympics.

This year's Paralympiad opened on August 24 where the Philippine delegation was led by two time paralympian Jerrold Mangliwan who held the flag of the country. The athletes are optimistic to follow in the footsteps of our Olympians who put on a strong showing in Tokyo 2020.

Here is an update on where our Olympians stand as of August 31.

Achelle Guion and Jeannete Aceveda

Sadly for these two athletes, they had to pull out of their respective events due to testing positive for the Covid-19 virus.

Guion, who would have competed in powerlifting, tested positive prior to the opening ceremony while para discus thrower Jeanette Aceveda tested positive on Sunday, August 29 days prior to competing on the 31st.

Ernie Gawilan (Swimming)

Gawilan ended his Paralympic campaign on a down note after a 10th place finish in the men’s 100m backstroke competition on Monday, August 30. The Davao City native finished with a time of 1:26.60 which was not good enough to place in the top 8 that would qualify for the finals.

Gawilan can hold his head high however as he became the first Asian para swimmer to ever qualify for a Paralympic finals as he competed in the men’s 400m freestyle finals where he landed in 6th place.

Prior to the 100m backstroke competition, Gawilan was also unable to qualify for the men’s 100m freestyle SM7 with a ninth place finish in the heats.

Gary Bejino (Swimming)

It has been a rough going so far for Bejino in Tokyo as he failed to qualify for both finals of the men’s 200m individual medley and 50m butterfly events. He finished dead last in the 200m individual medley heats and 14th out of 16 in the 50m butterfly heats, not reaching the top 8 that would qualify in both events.

Bejino still has time to earn a medal however as he is set to compete in the men’s 400m freestyle S6 event on September 2 and men’s 100m backstroke S6 on September 3.

Jerrold Mangliwan (Athletics)

Wheelchair racer Mangliwan has qualified for two finals in this year’s Paralympics. He finished in 6th place in the men’s 1500m T52 event but was disqualified for the men’s 400m T52 finals for line infringement.

He finished with a time of 3:58.42 in the 1500m event, shattering his previous best of 4:09.95. His time of 1:00.80 in the 400m would have been good for 5th place but the Tabuk, Kalinga native crossed an inner lane of a rival racer thus disqualifying him from the event entirely.

Mangliwan still has another chance at a medal in Tokyo as he will still compete in the men’s 100m T52 event on September 3.

Allain Ganapin (Taekwondo)

Ganapin is yet to compete in the Tokyo Paralympic Games as his first match will be against Abulfaz Abuzarli of Azerbaijan in the men’s K44 - 75kg division on September 3.

List of all incentives received by Ph Tokyo 2020 Olympians

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 08:58:53 GMT

Tokyo 2020 was a golden Olympics for the Philippines. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz bagged the country its first Olympic gold medal while three of our four boxers came home bemedaled with two silvers and a solo bronze, establishing the Philippines as a force again in world boxing.

Out of all 19 athletes, four came home with Olympic honors while the rest represented the country well with strong performances across the board.

With the Olympics over, the whole athlete delegation has received incentives from both the government and the private sector. There is no doubt that the incentives received are well deserved by each athlete, from non-medalists to gold medalist Diaz, as they all put their blood, sweat, and tears into their respective sports to bring glory to the nation.

Here is a list of all incentives received per athlete:

Hidilyn Diaz (Gold Medalist for Weightlifting Women’s 55kg class)

Cash Incentives

P10 million - Under Republic Act 10699 or National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Olympic gold medalists are entitled to P10 million from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)

P10 million - Sports patron Manny Pangilinan pledged P10 million for winning an Olympic gold through the MVP Sports Foundation

P10 million - San Miguel Corporation boss Ramon Ang committed to give P10 million for a Filipino athlete who will win gold in Tokyo

P5 million - Business tycoon Dennis Uy pledged P5 million for Diaz through his Siklab Atleta Pilipinas Sports Foundation

P5 million - The PSC announced it will reward Diaz an additional P5 million for her two Olympic records as RA 10699 states that a Filipino athlete who surpasses Philippine records or rankings in any measurable international sports competitions like the Summer Games shall be given cash incentives

P3 million - President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to give Diaz P3 million from the budget of the Office of the President

P3 million - House Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero pledged P3 million for an Olympic gold

P3 million - The Philippine Olympic Committee pledged P3 million for an Olympic gold

P3 million - Restaurant company Max's Group pledged P3 million for Diaz

P2.5 million - Diaz will receive P2.5 million from her hometown of Zamboanga City

P1 million - Universidad de Zamboanga, where Diaz used to study, added P1 million for its former student

P 1 million - Senators donated P100,000 each for the chamber's cash prizes for the four Filipino medalists in Tokyo and gave Diaz P1 million for winning gold

Other Incentives

House and lot from Century Properties

Condominium unit in Eastwood City from Megaworld Corporation

House and lot in Tagaytay City from Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino

House and lot in Zamboanga City from Duterte

Free lifetime flights from AirAsia

Free 80,000 miles per year for life from Philippine Airlines

Twenty-five free flights from Cebu Pacific Air

A beauty package worth P600,000 for Diaz and her team from the L’Oreal Group. The international beauty and cosmetics company also pledged P1.4 million worth of products for the 10 other female Filipino Olympians.

Free lifetime gas from Phoenix Petroleum

Thirteen-seater van from Foton

Free meals for life from several restaurants and lifetime supply of milk tea from several shops

Free lifetime services, including tattoo and oil change

Carlo Paalam (Silver Medalist for Boxing in the Men’s Flyweight Class)

Cash Incentives

P5 million - Under Republic Act 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Olympic silver medalists are entitled to P5 million

P5 million - Sports patron Manny Pangilinan committed P5 million for a silver medal in Tokyo through the MVP Sports Foundation

P5 million - San Miguel Corporation boss Ramon Ang pledged P5 million for Filipino silver medalists

P3 million - Phoenix Petroleum vowed to give Paalam P3 million for his feat in Tokyo

P2 million - President Rodrigo Duterte will grant Paalam P2 million from his office

P2 million - House Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero added P2 million to the cash windfall of silver medalists

P2 million - The Philippine Olympic Committee is giving a P2 million bonus for Filipino silver medalists

P500,000 - Senators donated P100,000 each for the chamber's cash prizes for the four Filipino medalists in Tokyo and gave Paalam P500,000 for winning silver

Other Incentives

Free 60,000 miles per year for life from Philippine Airlines

Unlimited free flights for five years from AirAsia

Twenty-five free flights from Cebu Pacific Air

House and lot in Cagayan de Oro from VisMin Cebu Landmasters Inc

House and lot in Tagaytay from POC president Bambol Tolentino

Free big bike from Motortrade

Free services, including change oil and haircut

Nesthy Petecio (Silver Medalist for Boxing in the Women’s Featherweight Class)

Cash incentives

P5 million - Under Republic Act 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Olympic silver medalists shall be given P5 million

P5 million - Sports patron Manny Pangilinan pledged P5 million for an Olympic silver through the MVP Sports Foundation

P5 million - San Miguel Corporation honcho Ramon Ang vowed to give Filipino Olympic silver medalists P5 million

P3 million - Phoenix Petroleum added P3 million for Filipino silver medalists through its Siklab Atleta Pilipinas Foundation

P2 million - President Rodrigo Duterte will grant Petecio P2 million

P2 million - House Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero committed P2 million for an Olympic silver

P2 million - The Philippine Olympic Committee pledged P2 million for an Olympic silver

P500,000 - Senators donated P100,000 each for the chamber's cash prizes for the four Filipino medalists in Tokyo and gave Petecio P500,000 for winning silver

Other incentives

Condominium unit in Davao City from Megaworld Corporation

House and lot in Candelaria, Quezon from Ovialand

House and lot in Tagaytay from Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino

Unlimited flights for five years from AirAsia

Free 60,000 miles per year for life from Philippine Airlines

Twenty-five free flights from Cebu Pacific Air

P1.4 million worth of products to be shared with eight other Filipino female Olympians in Tokyo from L'Oreal Group

Nestea products for her hometown of Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur and her chosen non-government organization

Free meals, milk tea for life from several shops

Eumir Marcial (Bronze Medalist for Boxing in the Men’s Middleweight Class)

Cash incentives

P2 million - Under Republic Act 10699 or National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Olympic bronze medalists are entitled to P2 million

P2 million - Sports patron Manny Pangilinan pledged P2 million for an Olympic bronze medal through the MVP Sports Foundation

P2 million - San Miguel Corporation boss Ramon Ang committed P2 million for Filipino Olympic bronze medalists

P1 million - President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to reward Marcial P1 million from his office

P1 million - House Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero pledged P1 million for an Olympic bronze medal

P1 million - The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) promised Marcial a P1 million bonus

P1 million - Phoenix Petroleum will give Marcial P1 million through its Siklab Atleta Pilipinas Sports Foundation

P500,000 - Marcial will get P500,000 from the Zamboanga local government

P300,000 - Senators donated P100,000 each for the chamber's cash prizes for the four Filipino medalists in Tokyo and gave Marcial P300,000 for winning bronze

Other incentives

House and lot in Tagaytay from POC president Bambol Tolentino

Free 40,000 miles per year for life from Philippine Airlines

Unlimited free flights for two years from AirAsia

Free 25 flights from Cebu Pacific Air

Non bemedaled athletes who will get P500,000 each from the Philippine Olympic Committee and the MVP Sports Foundation are:

Kristina Marie Knott – sprinting

EJ Obiena – men’s pole vault

Irish Magno – women’s boxing, flyweight division

Juvic Pagunsan – men’s golf

Kiyomi Watanabe – women’s judo

Cris Nievarez – rowing

Jayson Valdez – shooting

Margielyn Didal – skateboarding

Luke Gebbie – men’s swimming

Remedy Rule – women’s swimming

Kurt Barbosa – taekwondo

Elreen Ando – weightlifting

Carlos Yulo – gymnastics

Yuka Saso - golf

Bianca Pagdanganan - golf

Philippine Olympic boxing back to its former glory

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 02:24:30 GMT

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games was a rousing success for the Philippines with the country achieving a record haul of four medals as well as getting its first ever Olympic gold medal. When weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz lifted 127kg in the clean and jerk in her last attempt, the whole nation celebrated with her as she let out a triumphant shout as the Philippines at last tasted Olympic gold after making its debut way back in the 1924 Summer Games.

While Diaz deservedly received most of the plaudits, she was not the only Olympian to bring glory to the country. Our boxers put on a show in their Olympic runs. Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial, and Irish Magno performed admirably as the boxing delegation was responsible for three of the four medals of the Philippines.

Petecio became the first female boxing medalist of the Philippines, as well as the first medalist of any gender since Onyok Velasco won silver in the 1996 Games, as she made it all the way to the finals where she was defeated by familiar foe and hometown hope Sena Irie. In the process, Petecio also became the first silver medalist in the women’s featherweight event that made its debut in Tokyo.

Paalam also bagged a silver medal as he made it to the finals of the men’s flyweight event. The youngest member of the boxing delegation in Tokyo was a revelation. Coming into the event as an underdog, he defeated veteran Olympians on his way to the finals. Along the way, he pulled off an upset against Rio 2016 gold medalist Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan in the semifinals.

Ultimately losing via split decision in the finals against Great Britain’s Galal Yafai, the scavenger-turned-Olympian can hold his head up high knowing he gave it all for the Philippines.

Eumir Marcial came into the Olympics with high hopes to win a medal for the Philippines and he did not disappoint. Marcial came out of the gates strong in his run in the men’s middleweight event with two opening round stoppages in his first two fights as he looked like a freight train running over opponents.

His run ended however as he lost a thriller of a fight against Ukrainian Oleksandr Khyzhniak in the semifinals. In a match that ended in a split decision, Marcial ultimately lost steam against the machine-like European to settle for a bronze medal.

Irish Magno was defeated in the round of 16 by a masterful performance from Thai foe Jutamas Jitpong. The Iloilo native was outfought and outpaced by the Thai but she can still hold her head high and she will surely bounce back to represent the Philippines again.

The Philippine boxing team in the Olympics came home as the most bemedaled team of the nation in Tokyo and they reminded the world again of how big a force the Philippines is when it comes to the sweet science of the squared circle.

Abante, Babae: Pinays make herstory in the Olympics

marinaroberto@olympic.ph (Marina Roberto) — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 07:26:56 GMT

After nearly a century of trying, the Philippines finally snatched an Olympic gold medal courtesy of a woman — a feat that also outweighed a three-hour-long State of the Nation Address.

Filipinos were triumphantly united when weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the first gold medal for the country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Zamboanga City pride beat Chinese Liao Qiuyun in the women’s 55kg category. She cleared a record-breaking 127kg in her final lift in clean and jerk and finished with a total of 224kg.

Diaz successfully carried a nation worn out by the world’s longest and strictest lockdown on her shoulders. From the apparent lack of financial support to unfounded accusations from the government, Diaz powered through to bag the gold.

But apart from making a name in both the local and international sports scene, Diaz broke many gender barriers and stereotypes in a sports-mad and ultramasculine country.

“I wasn’t aware that I was making Olympic records and I can’t believe that my name is in the Olympic record books,” Diaz said.

Diaz’s victory at the Tokyo International Forum proved that women can strongly emerge in stereotypically masculine sports if given enough support and opportunities. The Philippines is competing in the Olympics with a female-dominated delegation. Of the 19 Filipino athletes, 10 of them are women.

2021 must be a defining year because the gap between men and women in sports is slowly narrowing. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it is encouraging and supporting the promotion of women in sport “at all levels and in all structures with a view of implementing the principle of equality of men and women.” The committee also wants to involve women in essential organizational positions.

Breaking gender norms

Meanwhile, Boxer Nesthy Petacio and skateboarder Margielyn Didal, proud members of the LGBTQIA+ community, also made significant strides in the international sports arena.

Petacio, who clinched the silver medal for the women’s boxing featherweight division, dedicated her victory to all the members of the community.

“Para rin po sa LGBTQ community ang laban na 'to. I am proud to be part of the LGBTQ community. Sulong, laban,” Petacio said in an international press conference.

Didal, who finished strong at 7th place in skateboarding women’s street event, also stole the limelight during the sporting event. The sportsmanship of the good-humored skateboarder captured many hearts with her aura and quirky gestures.

“Nangungulit lang… I mean, that’s how skateboarding is. It doesn’t matter what your nation or culture is, or what language you speak ‘cos we have the same passion,” Didal said.

The future is bright for Filipino athletes and the dream of a gender-equal sporting arena is at our fingertips. There’s still so much left to do but we did not come this far to only go this far.

Surely, the whole country, perhaps even the world, will forever remember how these women changed Philippine sports history. Herstory. Our history.

Tokyo 2020 Day 13, 14 and 15 Highlights

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 12:47:54 GMT

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has officially come to an end. After a year’s delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Olympics pushed through this year and, as always, was filled with iconic moments.

While the Philippines was far from the country with the most medals in this iteration of the games, the country’s athletes have done the nation proud. The last three days of Tokyo for the Philippines only hammered home the fact that the country is a power in sports, especially when it comes to the sweet science of boxing.

Here are the highlights from the last three days of Tokyo 2020.

Day 13

Saso climbs up the rankings, Pagdanganan goes down

After a dismal start relative to her talent, golfer Yuka Saso reminded everyone why she is a contender for a podium finish in the women’s individual golf event in Tokyo. Saso climbed to joint 34th place after ending the first round at joint 47th. Saso hit three-under par 68 in the second round as she converted five birdies.

Bianca Pagdangan, however, had an opposite fate as she dropped 20 places despite hitting a par 71. This is after her joint seventh-place status after the first round.

Marcial loses semi final thriller, goes home with a bronze

Boxer Eumir Marcial ends his Olympic campaign with a bronze medal after a close split decision loss to Oleksandr Khyzhniak of Ukraine in their men’s middleweight bout.

Marcial couldn’t continue his streak of first round knockouts as the Ukrainian kept up with the Filipino every round, ultimately winning out the match in the third round as Khyzhniak won the third unanimously with all judges scoring it 10-9 after being behind after the first two rounds to the Filipino.

Khyzhniak won the match after the judges scored it, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29, 28-29.

Paalam advances to the finals after beating Japanese foe

Paalam dashed Japanese hopes of another gold medal in boxing after he beat hometown bet Ryomei Tanaka in their men’s flyweight semifinals bout. Paalam secured a finals berth after his unanimous decision win.

Tanaka was the aggressor in the match but was outboxed and outclassed by the counter punching Paalam who now goes on to face Galal Yafai of Great Britain in the gold medal match.

All five judges scored the bout in Paalam’s favor, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

Day 14

Saso surging, Pagdanganan slips

Golfers Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan continued their Olympic campaigns in the women’s individual golf event. The two had contrasting results in the third round of the event.

Saso fired a four-under par 67 after once again sinking five birdies. Meanwhile Pagdanganan scored another par 71, matching her score from the previous round.

After the third round, Saso is now at joint 20th while Pagdanganan is now at joint 29th.

Day 15

Saso and Pagdangan finish Olympic campaigns

Yuka Saso finished the final round of the women’s individual golf event with a six-under par 65. She was ultimately undone by her subpar first round performance as it was ultimately too big of a hole. Saso had a stellar final three rounds to finish in the top 10 of the event but was ultimately medalless after a total of 10-under par 274.

Pagdanganan slipped to joint 43rd place after finishing the final round with a three-over par 74 for a total of one-over par 285 in the event.

Paalam wraps up Philippines’ campaign with a valiant performance

Boxer Carlo Paalam came up short, losing via split decision, in his gold medal match in the men’s flyweight class against Great Britain’s Galal Yafai. A first round knockdown was the difference as Yafai took the first two rounds.

Paalam won the third round handily as all five judges scored the round 10-9 in his favor but it was ultimately not enough as the match was scored 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.

Paalam’s silver medal added to the tally of the Philippines as the delegation finished with one gold, two silvers, and one bronze medal.

Tokyo 2020 Day 11 and 12 Highlights

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 13:38:54 GMT

Two contrasting results for our boxers who competed as one valiantly competed in a losing effort while the other defeated the reigning Olympic gold medalist in his weight class.

In other events, EJ Obiena concluded his maiden Olympic appearance while our female golfers kicked off their campaigns.

Here are the highlights from days 11 and 12.

Day 11

Obiena ends debut campaign

EJ Obiena was eliminated from medal contention after three unsuccessful attempts at clearing 5.80m in the men’s pole vault finals. The only Asian representative in the finals, Obiena almost cleared the height on his first two attempts only to clip the bar off on both tries.

On his third try, Obiena was initially eliminated after hesitating twice but was allowed to continue on after a talk with the officials on the field. Even with the leeway, Obiena was unable to clear the height.

Petecio falls short to familiar foe

Nesthy Petecio was unable to win against Sena Irie of Japan in the finals of the women’s featherweight class, losing via unanimous decision. This is the third time Petecio lost to Irie in their four matches.

All five judges scored the bout in favor of the Japanese boxer, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28.

While Petecio was unable to secure the first Olympic boxing gold medalist, she became the first Filipina to win an Olympic boxing medal matching Onyok Velasco’s runner up placing in the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Paalam upsets Olympic champion, guaranteed a bronze medal

Carlo Paalam beat reigning Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan via split decision in a huge upset in their quarterfinal bout to secure the Philippines another medal.

Paalam is now in the semifinals and is guaranteed at least a bronze medal. The fight was shortened as the referee stopped it after the second round after an accidental headbutt opened up a cut above the left eye of the Uzbek.

Four judges scored the match 20-18 while the fifth judge called a tie with a 19-19 scoreline.

Day 12

Saso and Pagdanganan finally make Olympic debuts

Filipina golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Yuka Saso are off to surprising and contrasting starts in the women’s individual golf event after the first round.

Saso, who entered as a strong contender and the world number 8 seed, put up a three-over par 74 to place 47th while Pagdananan is 7th after scoring a two-under par 69 in her run.

This is only the first round however and there is many more golf to come as Pagdanganan looks to keep her momentum going while Saso looks to rebound after an underwhelming start.

Tokyo 2020 Day 9 and 10 Highlights

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 13:35:49 GMT

Eumir Marcial looks like a well-oiled machine after beating his foe in the quarterfinals to secure a spot in the semis and another sure bronze for the Philippines.

Elsewhere three Olympic hopefuls had their last performances in days 9 and 10 of Tokyo 2020.

Here are the highlights from days 9 and 10.

Day 9

Juvic Pagunsan finishes at 55th

Golfer Juvic Pagunsan posted a respectable one-under par in the fourth round of the men’s individual golf event to finish on a high personal note after back to back subpar rounds in rounds 2 and 3.

He finished his campaign with a total of one-over par 285 to place 55th out of 60 total competitors.

Marcial with another KO; secures sure bronze

Eumir Marcial secured the third medal for the Philippines with his swift victory over Armenian Arman Darchinyan in their men’s middleweight quarterfinals bout. Marcial came out of the gates strong as a combination of punches early in the first round forced the referee to perform a standing eight count on Darchinyan.

Marcial kept on with the pressure and he ended the fight with a strong right hook that felled the Armenian with 49 seconds left in the opening salvo. Marcial looks to keep the momentum up in his semifinal match after his back-to-back first round finishes.

Day 10

Knott fails to qualify for semifinals

Fil-Am sprinter Kristina Knott was unable to qualify for the women’s 200m semifinals after finishing in last place in her heat, clocking in at 23.8 seconds.

Her Olympic debut ended there but there is a bright future for the Philippine record holder.

Carlos Yulo comes close to the podium with a valiant effort

After a disappointing start to his Olympic campaign relative to the standards he set, Carlos Yulo dug deep and almost won a medal for the Philippines in the men’s artistic vault finals. Yulo finished with an average score of 14.716 which was good for fourth place with a mere 0.017 points separating him and the bronze medalist Artur Davtyan of Armenia.

Yulo scored 14.566 in his first attempt and 14.866 in his second attempt which was the highest individual score in the finals. Clearly Yulo is still one of the most talented gymnasts in the world and he showed it in his last performance in Tokyo.

Tokyo 2020 Day 7 and 8 Highlights

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 12:14:48 GMT

These two days marked the end of three of our athlete’s Olympic journeys while one of our strongest bets made his debut. Elsewhere, boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam are still going strong in their drive to add more medals to the Philippines’ haul this Tokyo 2020.

Here are the highlights from days 7 and 8.

Day 7

Pagunsan with a subpar second round

After a strong start to his Olympic campaign, golfer Juvic Pagunsan failed to keep up his momentum as he had a bogey-filled second round en route to a two-over par 73.

Pagunsan recorded four bogeys, two birdies, and 12 pars in the second round and as a result dropped out of the top 10 after finishing joint 5th after the first round.

Nievarez caps off Olympic debut

Rower Cris Nievarez ended his maiden Olympic campaign in 23rd place of the men’s single sculls after finishing 5th in the final D classification phase. His time of 7 minutes and 21.28 seconds was his best time of his games as he ended his stint on a high personal note.

Gebbie ends Olympic stint

Swimmer Luke Gebbie topped his heat with a time of 22.84 seconds, however his time was not enough to finish in the top 16 that will enter the semifinals of the men’s 50m freestyle event.

Gebbie finished 41st out of the 73 swimmers who competed in the event in Tokyo.

Day 8

Pagunsan slips to 55th after 3rd round

Golfer Juvic Pagunsan’s woes continue after another bogey-filled round. He ended the 3rd round with a five-over par 76 after tallying five bogeys in the men’s individual event.

He is now two-over par 215 after 54 holes in the event, good for 55th place.

Paalam one win away from a guaranteed medal

Boxer Carlo Paalam defeated his round of 16 foe via unanimous decision to advance to the quarterfinals of the men’s flyweight class. With a win in the quarters, Paalam guarantees the Philippines another medal in Tokyo.

All five judges scored the contest 30-27 in Paalam’s favor as he kept a clean fight against Mohamed Flissi of Algeria.

Petecio advances to featherweight finals

Boxer Nesthy Petecio earned a chance to get another Olympic gold for the Philippines after defeating Irma Testa of Italy via split decision in their women’s featherweight semifinals.

Petecio lost the first round but made a quick adjustment by getting in the face of her much taller opponent, negating Testa’s reach advantage. The aggressive style won Petecio the second and third round as the judges scored the match, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.

Pole Vaulter EJ Obiena makes Olympic Debut

EJ Obiena came out clutch in the men’s pole vault qualification when he cleared 5.75 meters in his third attempt after falling short in his first two attempts. He was one of only 11 pole vaulters to clear the height, earning him a 10th place finish well within the top 14 to advance to the medal round.

Obiena will have fierce competition in the finals with 2016 Olympic Champion Thiago Braz of Brazil, 2012 gold medalist Renaud Lavillenie of France, and current world number 1 Armand Duplantis of Sweden.

Tokyo 2020 Day 5 and 6 Highlights

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 12:12:03 GMT

Following the historic gold medal win of Hidilyn Diaz, the Philippines is still going strong in the Olympics. Boxer Nesthy Petecio secured at least a bronze medal by advancing to the semifinals of the women’s featherweight class, securing the Philippines its first multi medal Olympics since 1932.

In other events, three of our athletes capped off their Olympic campaigns while golfer Juvic Pagunsan had a strong start in his. Boxer Eumir Marcial however is going strong with a quick win over his round of 32 foe.

Here are the Philippine highlights from day 5 and 6 of the Olympics.

Day 5

Remedy Rule’s Tokyo 2020 Campaign comes to an end

Swimmer Remedy Rule put up a strong maiden Olympic campaign in Tokyo advancing all the way to the semifinal of the women’s 200m butterfly.

Unfortunately she was not able to advance to the finals of the event as her time of 2 minutes and 12.89 second was only good for 15th overall, far from the top 8 times that advanced to the finals.

Nesthy Petecio assures Philippines a second medal

Boxer Nesthy Petecio’s quarterfinals win over Colombian Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda to advance to the semifinals of the women’s featherweight class guaranteed the Philippines a second medal in Tokyo 2020.

Petecio made history with her unanimous decision win by being the first Philippine female medalist in boxing as well as being the first boxer to win a medal since Onyok Velasco’s silver in the 1996 games.

The judges scored the event, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28.

Day 6

Nievarez finishes 5th in classification semis heat

Rower Cris Nievarez finished 5th in his heat in the semifinals C/D of the men’s single sculls event to advance to the finals D. He ended with a time of 7:26.05 in Heat 1.

Nievarez’s possible best finish is 19th for his first Olympic appearance.

Magno suffers unanimous decision loss; eliminated from contention

Irish Magno became the first Filipino boxer to be eliminated from the Olympics after losing to Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand via unanimous decision.

The judges all scored the match in the favor of the Thai, 30-27, 30- 27, 30- 27, 30- 27, 29-28. Jitpong seemingly learned from her loss to the Filipina in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games by putting forth a performance that stymied Magno.

Pagunsan off to a strong start

Golfer Juvic Pagunsan came out of the gates hot in the men’s individual golf event with an opening round score of five-under par 66, good for joint 5th. The oldest Olympic Filipino athlete in Tokyo recorded six birdies, 11 pars, and one bogey.

Pagunsan is tied with Joachim Hansen of Denmark and Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela after the first round. Austria’s Sepp Straka is in 1st place with a 63 with Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananod right behind him with a 64. Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters are tied at third with 65 apiece.

Marcial advances to quarterfinals with quick stoppage

Boxer Eumir Marcial made quick work of his round of 16 opponent in the men’s middleweight class. Marcial scored a knockdown early in the first round and opened a cut above Algerian Younes Nemouchi’s right eye that forced the referee to stop the contest at the 2:41-minute mark.

Marcial looks to be in prime condition with his speed and power evident in his opening fight in this Olympic games.

Tokyo 2020 Day 3 and 4 Highlights

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 20:57:39 GMT

July 26 will be one of those “where were you when this happened” days as Hidilyn Diaz bagged the Philippines its first ever gold medal in the Olympics. She made history after lifting a combined 224kg with a 97kg snatch and an olympic record 127kg on the clean and jerk to finish first in the women’s -55kg weightlifting.

While Diaz’s performance was the highlight of the past two days, she was not the only Philippine athlete to win the hearts of those in Tokyo as Margielyn Didal provided smiles to everyone watching women’s skateboarding.

Our other athletes also put up valiant performances and we now look into the highlights of days 3 and 4 for our athletes.

Day 3

Paalam continues Philippine boxer’s winning ways in Olympic debut

In his Olympic debut, Carlo Paalam defeated Irish contender Brendan Irvine via split decision, 4-1, thus securing his spot in the men’s flyweight round of 16. Judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, 28-29, 30-27, 29-28.

Paalam joins Nesthy Petecio and Irish Magno with the former advancing to the quarterfinals of the women’s featherweight event and the latter advancing to the round of 16 of the women’s flyweight event as the Philippine boxers are still undefeated in Tokyo.

Didal finishes 7th, wins hearts

Margielyn Didal qualified for the women’s street finals after ending her qualification round in 7th place with a total of 12.02, accumulated from her best scores of 2.77, 3.01, 3.02, and 3.22.

That 7th place finish was repeated in the finals of the event as the Cebuana finished with a total of 7.52 computed from scores of 2.33, 2.22, and 2.97. She failed to land four of her five tricks in the finals thus knocking her out of contention for the podium.

While Didal didn’t achieve Olympic glory her smile, vibe, and infectious attitude was evident in how she carried herself in the skate park. It was obvious she was enjoying the moment to compete on the biggest stage and she never put too much pressure on herself.

Diaz makes history wins Philippines its first Olympic gold medal

With a triumphant yell after her last lift, Hidilyn Diaz ended a 97 year wait. Since the Philippines sent its first athlete to the Olympic games in 1924, the country has never won gold and Diaz was a strong bet to end the drought as she won silver in the 2016 Rio Games.

It all came to her last lift, needing a 127kg clean and jerk to total 224kg in the -55kg women’s weightlifting to defeat China’s Liao Qiuyun who finished with a total of 223kg.

Day 4

Watanabe bows out of Olympics with swift defeat

Judoka Kiyomi Watanabe suffered a swift defeat to Spaniard Cristina Cabana Perez in their -63kg round of 32 match.

Cabana caught Watanabe with a quick ippon 38 seconds into the match to send Watanabe home.

Gebbie sets PH Record in defeat

Luke Gebbie set a new Philippine national record in the men’s 200m freestyle despite not qualifying for the semifinals of the event.

Gebbie clocked in at 49.64 seconds besting his previous record of 49.94 he set in the 2019 FINA Championship.

Gebbie finished 36th out of 70 swimmers, not reaching the top 16 who will move on to the semifinals.

Rule qualifies for the semifinals of the women’s 200m butterfly

Remedy Rule qualified for the semifinals of the women’s 200m butterfly event despite placing last in her heat.

She finished 15th with a time of 2:12.23 to earn a spot in the top 16.

Ando with a solid Olympic debut, finishes 7th

Elreen Ando finished her maiden Olympic campaign with a 7th place finish in the women’s 64kg weightlifting. She cleared 100kg in the snatch and 122kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 222kg.

Diaz lifts Philippines to Glory, bags first Gold Medal for the country

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 13:37:13 GMT

After her final lift, Hidilyn Diaz let out a triumphant yell with both hands clenched in fists as she knew what she had just done was more than achieving personal glory. Diaz not only lifted 127kg clean and jerk, she also gave the Philippines its first Olympic gold medal in 97 years since the country first joined in 1924.

Diaz’s win came down to the final lift as she needed to beat her opponent, China’s Liao Quiuyun, who was the favorite and lifted 126kg. Diaz’s 127kg answer in the clean and jerk combined with her 97kg snatch for a combined weight of 224kg enough to win the women’s 55kg weightlifting event as well as set a new Olympic record.

After the emotions in the Diaz camp had somewhat calmed down enough and it was time for the presentation of medals, former Filipino athlete and International Olympic Committee Board Member Mikee Cojuanco - Jaworski gave the medal to Diaz. Afterwards, it was a historic moment for the Philippines as Lupang Hinirang was played for the first time in the Olympic Games with Hidilyn Diaz, a Philippine Air Force Sergeant saluting the flag.

A native of Zamboanga and a product of very humble beginnings, Diaz’s achievement of winning the gold medal was a long time coming and well deserved. She started weightlifting after her cousin introduced her to the sport and she made her first Olympics in the 2008 Beijing Games as a wild card entry.

She placed second to the last in a field of 12 in the 2008 edition of the games and attained a Did Not Finish result after failing in her third attempt at the 118kg clean and jerk.

The real breakthrough for Diaz came in the 2016 Rio Games where she became the first Filipino medalist at the time since Onyok Velasco won silver in the 1996 Atlanta Games. Back then she promised to make it her goal to attain gold in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Since Rio 2016, Diaz gained numerous medals including becoming the first Filipino weightlifter of any gender to win gold in the Asian Games when she achieved it during the 2018 iteration of the games. She also won gold in the 55kg event in the 2020 Roma World Cup in Weightlifting to secure her spot in Tokyo 2020.

Since then however with the Covid 19 pandemic, Diaz’s training was altered to say the least with Tokyo 2020 postponed by a year and with her stranded in Malaysia for some time due to travel restrictions. Those being said, Diaz entered Tokyo 2020 as a strong contender in her field and one of the biggest hopes of the Philippines.

Suffice to say she delivered and how.

Her win gave the Philippines its first gold medal and with Filipino sports looking stronger than ever this Olympics with notable challengers in our boxers, this may not be our last gold medal this games.

Tokyo 2020 Day 1 and 2 Highlights

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 08:13:02 GMT

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics finally went underway with the opening ceremony on July 23. After a year's wait due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the best athletes have arrived to compete and attempt to bring glory to their nations.

Of around 11,500 athletes competing in the 329 medal events of 33 sports this Olympics, the Philippines sent 19 of our finest to compete and show the world our mettle. Our 19 athletes have the backing of some of the loudest fans in the world and Filipinos everywhere are sure to support our athletes no matter what.

Day 1 and 2 was a mixed bag of surprising setbacks as well as convincing wins by our athletes. Here are the highlights from the first weekend of the Olympics for the Philippine delegation.

Day 1

Kurt Barbosa crashes out to first seeded Korean jin

Kurt Barbosa had a tough draw going up against top seeded Jang Jun of Korea, losing in their round of 16 bout in the men’s 58 kg category by a score of 26-6.

Barbosa still had a chance to battle for the bronze medal through the repechage stage if Jun secured a spot in the gold medal match however the Korean suffered an upset loss to 12th seed Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi of Tunisia.

With the Korean’s loss, Barbosa was the first Filipino to be eliminated from Tokyo. Despite this, the Abra native is thankful for the opportunity to compete and his eyes are sure to be set on making it to Paris 2024.

Remedy Rule fails to make the semifinals of women's 100m butterfly, still has a chance in the 200m

Swimmer Remedy Rule competed in the women’s 100m butterfly event but her time was not enough to qualify for the semifinals. She finished with a time of 59.68 in her heat, ending up 25th overall nine places off the top 16 who qualified for the next round.

Nesthy Petecio dominates her opponent, advances to next round

Boxer Nesthy Petecio ground down her first round opponent en route to a unanimous decision victory. Petecio defeated Congolese Marcelat Sakobi Matshu in their women’s featherweight bout with the judges scoring the match 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27.

With the win, Petecio advances to the round of 16.

Carlos Yulo fails to advance in the floor event, qualifies for vault finals

With heightened expectations due to being one of the faces of the Philippine delegation, gymnast Carlos Yulo’s scores can be viewed as a disappointment for the 1st ever Filipino gold medalist in the World Artistic Gymnastic Championships.

Yulo finished 44th in his signature event of floor exercise receiving a score of 13.566. His aggregate score of 79.931 also placed him far from the qualifying spots for the all-around finals.

All is not lost however as Yulo finished 6th in vault and he advances to compete in the finals of the said apparatus. It is also important to note that with all Yulo has already accomplished, he is only 21 years old and has a bright future still to come in his sport.

Here are Carlos Yulo’s scores:

Rings- 14.000 (24th)

Vault - 14.766 (6th)

Parallel Bars - 13.466 (55th)

Horizontal Bars - 12.300 (63rd)

Floor Exercise - 13.566 (44th)

Pommel Horse - 11.833 (69th)

Total: 79.931 (47th)

Day 2

Filipino Shooter fails to advance to finals

Jayson Valdez failed to qualify for the finals of the men’s 10m air rifle event after finishing with 612.6 total points in the qualifying event. Valdez’s score was enough for 44th out 47 competitors with only the top eight set to compete in the finals.

Valdez scored 101.3 points in the first round, 100.5 in the second, 101.6 in the third, 103.6 points in the fourth, 103.5 in the fifth, and 102.1 in the sixth and final round.

Nievarez no longer in medal contention, will compete for final placing

Rower Cris Nievarez finished 5th in his quarterfinals race with a time of 7:50:74. That time was not enough with only the top 3 of each race advancing to the semifinals A/B where potential medalists will compete.

Nievarez’s Olympic journey is not yet over as he is set to compete in the semifinals C/D to fight for his overall placing.

Irish Magno joins fellow boxer, scores unanimous decision

Irish Magno, lands a spot in the round of 16 of the women’s flyweight round with a unanimous decision win over Kenyan Christine Ongare. Magno joins fellow boxer Neshty Petecio who beat her own opponent the day before.

Magno dominated her opponent and judges agreed, scoring the match 30-26, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.

Tokyo Olympics Opening: A Night of Hope

marinaroberto@olympic.ph (Marina Roberto) — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 14:26:37 GMT

So it begins. The Tokyo Olympics 2020 officially kicked off with made-for-TV choreography and cascading fireworks after a year-long delay due to the pandemic.

It’s no secret that mounting pandemic challenges pushed the cost of the Olympics to an unprecedented high. Japan has spent nearly $15 billion on the Games. But the sky-high spending paid off during the awe-inspiring opening ceremony of the Summer Games on Friday night.

Instead of the 68,000-capacity crowd capacity of Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, fewer than 1,000 spectators were present to cheer for athletes from more than 200 countries. It may seem lacking, but International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach still described the Games as a “moment of hope.”

Lives lost remembered

The ceremony started on a more somber note. Instead of the usual performances showcasing the host country's culture and history, it began with a video of Japan’s journey to the Olympics.

After Japanese singer Misia performed the country's national anthem, spectators were asked to observe a moment of silence to honor medical frontliners and remember those who died due to the pandemic. They also recognized the victims who died during the Olympic Games and other athletes who cannot attend the event.

Although the ceremony departed from the usual night of pageantry and speeches, the host city made up for it in some other way. It featured fireworks in indigo and white, the colors of the Tokyo 2020 emblem — giving a nod to Japanese tradition represented by giant wooden Olympic rings linked to the 1964 Games also hosted by Tokyo.

Taas noo, Pilipino

Greece, home to the first Games held, led the pack in the world's first official introduction to this year's Olympians. But the Philippines, which is optimistic to finally end its Olympic gold drought, also took center stage during the Parade of Nations. The Philippines is competing with 19 athletes.

Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe proudly carried the Philippine flag and led the country’s delegation. Marcial and Watanabe donned the official red tracksuit while the sports officials, including chef de mission Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, wore barong Tagalog from local brand KULTURA and alampay designed by Rajo Laurel.

Philippine Olympics Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham Tolentino, POC Sec-Gen Atty. Edwin Gastanes and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William Ramirez were also inside the stadium.

Stirring Finale

The nearly four hours of celebration and spectacle ended with the Olympic torch in the hands of Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka. As she ascended a staircase lined with light, the tennis star faced the crown one last time before lighting the cauldron to signify the formal start of the Games.

In a tweet, Osaka described the moment as “undoubtedly the greatest athletic achievement and honor I will ever have in my life.”

“I have no words to describe the feelings I have right now but I do know I am currently filled with gratefulness and thankfulness,” she said.

At 23, Osaka made history as a four-time Grand Slam champion. She earned her first title at the 2018 U.S. Open when she became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title.

After winning back-to-back Slams in late 2018 and early 2019 at the U.S. Open and Australian Open, respectively; Osaka became the first Asian tennis player to rank No. 1 in the world.

The torch used for the Games pays homage to an important flower in Japanese culture — the cherry blossom. It has a petal-like shape from which the flames emerged. The start of the torch relay in late March also coincided with when cherry blossoms hit their peak bloom.

According to the Tokyo Olympics Committee, about 30 percent of the aluminum in each torch was recycled from temporary housing units that were constructed in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

PSI lauds its two Olympians hoping to make waves in the international scene

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 11:20:55 GMT

The Philippines will be sending 19 athletes to Tokyo 2020 and among them are Remedy Rule and Luke Gebbie, swimmers hoping to bring glory to the nation. The two are not only there to make the country proud but also to bring more attention to the growth of Philippine swimming.

Gebbie and Rule qualified via the universality rule wherein one male and one female athlete can qualify indirectly to the Olympics by virtue of having the highest number of Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) points within their region. The points are based on the times posted by the athletes during the qualification process.

The University of Texas student and Filipina - American Rule accumulated 830 points by posting times of 2 minutes, 9 seconds and 58 milliseconds and 2 minutes and 35 milliseconds in the women’s 200 meter butterfly and women’s 200 meter freestyle respectively. While these are the times that earned her a spot in Tokyo, Rule will compete in the 100m freestyle event.

Gebbie, a Fil - Kiwi, garnered 828 points and will compete in the men’s 100m freestyle event, which he qualified for by having a seed time of 49.94 seconds. He achieved this time during the 2019 FINA World Championships. Also included in his 828 points is his time of 22.57 seconds in the 50m freestyle.

While Gebbie and Rule are the two who ultimately entered via universality rule, it speaks to the strength of Philippine swimming that four tankers were in contention to get into the Olympics at one point during the Olympic qualifying process.

Philippine Swimming Incorporated (PSI) President Lani Velasco was excited about how the strength of the Philippine’s swimmers is compared to the rest of the world.

“Since the implementation of the "A" Time" and "B" Time qualifying standards, it has given us a measure of how our swimmers are doing compared to the rest of the world. Having four swimmers getting close to the "A" Time is a milestone for us”, she said.

Rule and Gebbie are well equipped to fly the banner of Philippine swimming as they have been training hard even amidst the cloud of the Covid-19 pandemic making it more difficult to train and compete. They have been disciplined in their training and the PSI has been creative and helpful when it comes to giving them all the support they need in order to compete in the Olympics.

While giving support to the athletes who had a chance to qualify for the Olympics has been the primary focus for PSI, it has not been stagnant in helping the Philippines grow as a relevant swimming force in the world. Just recently, the PSI welcomed the Israeli Olympic delegation of swimmers to train and compete with Filipino tankers.

While swimming is in a good place now in the country, the PSI is not resting on its laurels with future projects geared towards the goal of sending even more swimmers to the Olympics in the future.

“The results of the 2019 SEA Games definitely showed us that we are improving. We want to keep the momentum by participating in more international competitions, providing our coaches and officials the necessary education, and hosting national and international events.”,

Velasco said.

“Our goal is to get more swimmers to the Olympics. For that to happen, we need swimmers achieving "A" times. The presence of the Israel team here has given us some motivation and an idea of how to get there. We're very excited about the future of the sport here in the Philippines”, she added.

The 19 Olympians of the Philippines are from different sports each with their own chances of achieving the elusive gold medal for the country and Velasco shares in the excitement of every Filipino.

“I think the Philippines, in general, is at a point where the elusive gold medal may finally be achieved. To be part of this era is a one of a kind experience.”, she said.

PH Team Working Hard in Preparation for the Olympic Games

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 03:20:52 GMT

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are finally upon us. After a year’s delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has swept across the world, the greatest athletes will compete to bring glory to their nations.

Some Philippine athletes and delegation members are now in Tokyo while the rest are going to arrive fairly soon in time for the start of the Olympics on July 23. Athletes must quarantine for a certain period as a measure to minimize risk of exposure.

Due to the aforementioned pandemic, Tokyo 2020 will be quite different from the events of the past as certain health and public safety measures will be practiced in order to minimize the risk of any delegation member from any country contracting Covid-19.

The preparations done by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) for the delegation going to Tokyo 2020 have been thorough and strict in order to comply with the Olympic Playbook put forward by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG).

It has been quite a challenge for the POC as the 19 athletes who will carry the Philippine flag in Tokyo train in different parts of the world. Examples for this are EJ Obiena training in Italy while Hidilyn Diaz trains in Malaysia among others. Only certain members of the delegation were training in the Philippines such as Jayson Valdez, Cris Nievarez, Elreen Ando, and Kurt Barbosa.

The main focus of the preparation for the Olympics from the POC has been informing delegation members comprehensively about requirements that they need to accomplish. Applications that need downloading as well as the required documents that members have to bring have been of paramount importance.

When it comes to vaccination, POC President Congressman Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino ensured that most, if not all, athletes have been vaccinated by providing doses in the Philippines as well as coordinating with colleagues abroad wherever our athletes may be.

It has been a challenge as limited mobility severely restricts movement but the team has done all it can to provide our athletes the opportunity to compete to the fullest of their abilities while limiting risk of exposure to the Covid-19 virus.

Our athletes have been well prepared, not only in their training but also when it comes to knowing the dos and don’ts when it comes to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bubble. All they need now is the nation’s support and backing and they will surely get the backing of the whole Philippine community.

Philippine Olympic Athletes for Tokyo 2020

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 03:20:52 GMT

The Olympics are finally upon us. Sports fans and athletes were deprived of the quadrennial event in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the greatest athletic competition on earth is finally set to begin on July 23 of 2021 in Tokyo.

Every athlete’s dream is to wave the flag of their country in their respective sport in the Olympics and the Philippines is no different. These 19 athletes hope to make the Pearl of the East proud and bring home that elusive gold medal.

Listed in alphabetical order.

Elreen Ando

Ando earned her berth for Tokyo 2020 via continental allocation as the highest ranked athlete in the International Weightlifting Federation absolute ranking list for the women's -64kg event in Asia.

Though overshadowed by star weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the Cebuana has all the tools needed to make her own mark and bring the nation pride this coming Olympics.

Kurt Barbosa

Barbosa clinched his berth after gutting out a last gasp win in the 2021 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament in Amman, Jordan.

Barbosa is the sole Taekwondo representative for the Philippines and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist hopes to fly the jins’ banner high in the Olympics when he competes in the 58-kg weight class.

Hidilyn Diaz

Diaz needs no introduction to Filipino fans and the weightlifting world is sure to have their eyes on her at the Olympics. She might one up herself this year, bettering her runner up placing in the Rio Olympics in 2016.

She officially qualified for Tokyo by lifting a 90kg snatch in the Asian Weightlifting Championships held in April of this year.

Margielyn Didal

Didal is a fan favorite and a trailblazer for Philippine skating and she needs no introduction. The 2020 Asia Skater of the Year Awardee qualified for the Olympics by virtue of being the 13th ranked female skater in the world.

While her back is against the wall with strong competition with the likes of skateboarding hotbeds Brazil, Japan, and the United States sure to field virtuoso skaters, Didal is as strong a bet as any of our athletes to get that elusive gold medal for the Philippines.

Luke Gebbie

Gebbie and fellow swimmer Remedy Rule completed the 19 athletes that will compete in the Olympics for the Philippines. Gebbie qualified by virtue of having enough points from FINA.

The Australia- based Filipino holds several national records including the 50 meter freestyle and 50 meter butterfly events. After finishing with a silver and bronze to his name in the 2019 South East Asia games, it may be time for an overdue gold medal this Olympics.

Kristina Knott

The Miami based Knott joined the Philippine national team for athletics fairly recently as a way to connect more to her Filipino roots. Fast forward a couple of years and the Filipino-American sprinter is as good a bet as any to get that elusive gold for the Philippines.

Knott is the national record holder for both the 100 meter and 200 meter events and after securing four medals in the 2019 SEA

Games she looks to add to her medal collection in Tokyo.

Irish Magno

Magno was the first Filipino to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics back in March of last year. That also makes her the first Filipina boxer to qualify for the Summer Games in history.

The Ilongga has been a staple of the Philippine national team for a long time, earning her first gold medal in an international competition back in 2012 at the Taiwan Open in Taipei. She represented the Philippines in the 2019 SEA Games ultimately finishing second. Here’s hoping she one ups that by gaining gold in the 2020 Olympic games.

Eumir Marcial

Fourth on our list is also a long time staple in Philippine boxing. Marcial has been boxing since he was 6 and it shows as he is possibly the country’s best hope to gain gold after running roughshod against quality competition back in the Asia/Oceania qualifiers in 2020.

Here’s hoping the solidly built middleweight will continue his dominance over his division in the Olympics.

Cris Nievarez

Rowing may not be a popular sport in the Philippines but maybe Nievarez can change that with a strong showing this summer games.

The Atimonan, Quezon native qualified for the Olympics early in May by making the semifinals of the World Rowing Asia Oceania Continental Qualification Regatta. The 21-year-old booked his place as the sole representative of the national rowing team and he looks to put forth a massive effort in the men’s lightweight single sculls.

EJ Obiena

The Philippines has a long line of greats in the field of athletics and EJ Obiena hopes to be the next household name. In fact, he might already be there as a 2019 SEA Games gold medalist and the current face of track and field.

Obiena qualified way back in 2020 and here’s hoping he soars the highest in Tokyo.

Carlo Paalam

The 2019 SEA Games flyweight gold medalist earned his berth for the Olympics back in March. He has been a boxer for the national team since 2013 and he has garnered quite a few medals along the way.

The pride of Cagayan de Oro was a scavenger back when he was discovered at 9 years old and the Olympics may be the perfect ending of this rags to riches story if he wins a gold medal.

Bianca Pagdanganan

While overshadowed by Yuka Saso, Pagdanganan is no slouch herself when it comes to golf. The Quezon City native has been competing for the Philippines for a while now, winning bronze in the individual event in the 2018 Asian Games along with a gold in the team event with Saso.

She has been golfing since her father brought her along to his weekend golf sessions and her journey has come to this, aiming to bring glory to the Philippines in Tokyo 2020.

Juvic Pagunsan

Another golfer for the Philippines, Pagunsan is the senior player compared to Saso and Pagdanganan. He has been playing professionally in the Japan Tour since way back in 2006 and has garnered 11 professional wins in the tour.

Pagunsan qualified via international rankings and here’s hoping he swings his way to victory for the Philippines.

Nesthy Petecio

Another female boxer flying the flag of the Philippines is Nesthy Petecio. She has been training with the national team since she was 15 years old and she won many gold medals along her journey to the Olympics which she qualified for at the same time as Paalam.

The Davaoeña hopes to add another gold to her coffer in the Olympics and it’s safe to say that that will be the sweetest victory of them all.

Remedy Rule

Rule and Luke Gebbie were the last athletes to qualify for the Olympics and they are both strong bets for the Philippines. Rule is based in the United States and competed for the University of Texas Longhorns in the NCAA.

She has been competing for the Philippines since 2019 and has since earned numerous medals including two silvers in the 2019 SEA Games.

Yuka Saso

Saso needs no introduction as she has brought golf to the national spotlight by winning tournaments at such a young age. She won gold in the 2018 Asian Games and has been on a steady rise in popularity since then.

She is a contender for the Philippines this Tokyo 2020 and here’s hoping she will have a strong showing in the golf course.

Kiyomi Watanabe

One athlete who will have a short trip to Tokyo will be Kiyomi Watanabe as the Filipino-Japanese judoka is already based in Japan. The Cebu born Watanabe qualified for the Olympics via continental quota.

She has been representing the Philippines since 2011 and has bagged numerous medals since then including dominating her event in the SEA Games getting gold in the 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 editions of the games.

Jayson Valdez

Philippine air rifle shooter Valdez is hoping to shoot his shot this Olympics by performing well in his events. His qualification for the Olympics is a dream come true for the Manila based shooter.

He has a great support system in his father, also an avid shooter, and Philippine legend Tac Padilla. The Filipino fans will also surely be in the corner of Valdez this coming Tokyo 2020.

Carlos Yulo

This article was listed in alphabetical order to highlight how all the athletes are of equal footing but it seems funnily ironic that the last entry is possibly the face of all the Philippine Olympians in Tokyo.

Yulo burst on to the national consciousness by becoming the first ever Filipino world champion in gymnastics by winning gold in the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship held in Stuttgart.

The 21-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top and he hopes to add olympic gold to his laundry list of achievements in his young career.

All these athletes deserve the support of every Filipino. The Covid-19 pandemic has made us all wait for one more year for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but the wait is now over and it is time to spur on our champions to conquer the world.

5 Things You Should Know About Team Philippines Before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Sun, 18 Jul 2021 03:20:51 GMT

All eyes are on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which is taking place in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but thanks to live streaming, there are more ways to watch than ever.

Before the two-week event kicks off on July 21 through August 8 in its host city of Tokyo, Japan, there are some things you need to know. These may be things that you probably already know but for the sake of those living under the rock, these things are worth mentioning:

1. In the Philippines’ 97 years in the international sports scene since its Olympic debut in the 1924 Paris Games, no Filipino has ever won a gold medal. In hopes of finally snatching one, the Philippine Olympic Committee has decided to compete with 19 athletes, instead of the initially announced 16 athletes.

The Philippine delegation in the quadrennial international sports meet is led by Rio Olympics silver medalist and weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz, gymnastics world champion Carlos Yulo, US Open golf queen Yuka Saso, and rising pole vaulter EJ Obiena.

2. Did you know that of the 19 members of Team Philippines, 18 of them will see Olympic action for the first time? The roster of first-timers is also female-dominated as 10 of them are women!

3. From the Philippine streets to Tokyo grounds, skateboarding champion Margielyn Didal will show off her ollies, flips, and mid-air spins in the 2020 Olympics. The Tokyo Games will debut skateboarding on the Olympic stage. As a heavy hitter in the scene, Didal might just snatch the Philippine's much-awaited gold medal this time.

4. Sports critics and fans alike have their hopes up for Team Philippines, especially after pole vaulter EJ Obiena broke a new record in the World Athletics Continental Tour in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Obiena cleared 5.87 meters, surpassing his previous outdoor record of 5.85m set three weeks ago in Mossingen, Germany. He broke the Philippine record thrice in the indoor event, closing out the season with a best of 5.85m.

5. Apart from international recognition, winning athletes will take home with them a hefty amount of bonus. Just this week, San Miguel Corp. big boss Ramon S. Ang offered to match the cash prize by the Manny V. Pangilinan’s Sports Foundation — P10 million for gold medalists, P5 million for silver medalists, and P2 million for bronze medalists.

These are on top of the same amount of incentives that the government will give to the medalists under Republic Act 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.

Fil-American Sprinter Another Philippine Hope for Elusive Gold Medal

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 00:00:08 GMT

Philippine sprinter Kristina Knott will represent the country in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, qualifying via the universality rule on June 23. The Filipino – American will compete in the 200-meter run event in the quadrennial meet.

The St. Croix, Virgin Islands born Knott earned one of the four universality places along with Najma Paveen of Pakistan, Veronica Shanti Pereira of Singapore, and Lucia Moris of South Sudan. The universality places are the last four slots reserved for athletes who failed to directly qualify via the entry standard time of 22.80 seconds.

Not even the scare of a positive Covid-19 diagnosis was enough to dampen the elation of qualifying for the biggest sporting event in the world as Knott tested positive on the same day of the announcement of her place in the meet. Knott was asymptomatic and has subsequently recovered.

It has been quite the journey for Knott to get here as she only recently started competing for the Philippines in athletics. Growing up in Florida the Filipino – American with a Filipina mother from Imus, Cavite and American father, first started competing in basketball but entered track in Middle School and High School splitting time with her first sport.

Knott herself was the one who contacted the officials of the Philippine athletics federation through her connections with her fellow Filipino – American athletes. Her primary reason for joining was to become closer to her Filipino roots.

“The reason for the switch was to get more in touch with my Filipino side and I thought what better way to do that than through sport”, Knott said.

The University of Miami alum, who only made her international debut in 2018, as she is the South East Asian 200m record holder when she broke the record twice in a span of hours in the 2019 SEA Games.

Knott secured a time of 23.07 seconds in the preliminary round of the 200m in the SEA games and subsequently broke her own record by clocking in at 23.01 in the final to secure gold, one of her four medals in the 2019 SEA Games.

Apart from holding the South East Asian record of 23.01 in the 200m, Knott also holds the Philippine record for the 100m dash when she eclipsed Lydia De Vega’s 33-year-old record at the 2020 Drake Blue Oval Showcase held in Iowa in 2020.

She finished with a time of 11.27 seconds, eclipsing the legend De Vega’s record by the slimmest of margins. Her time was one one hundredths of a second faster than De Vega’s (11.28).

Knott is certainly going to put up a fight to capture that elusive Olympic gold for the Philippines. Along with all Olympians she needs all Filipinos’ support in Tokyo and she is grateful and hopeful for even more support come the Olympic proper.

“Thank you for supporting me to become an Olympian, I hope and pray that you guys can continue to support me. Show love August 2nd when I run the 200”, Knott ended.

Shooting for gold, Jayson Valdez earns Tokyo Olympic Berth

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 08:59:24 GMT

Air rifle shooter Jayson Valdez became the Philippines’ 12th athlete in this year’s Tokyo Olympics. Valdez earned his spot in Tokyo 2020 by virtue of the continental quota.

Valdez learned of his qualification when he was in Fort Magsaysay where he is training with the military. He said that at that moment qualifying for the Olympics was out of his mind and thus he was shocked and overwhelmed by the announcement.

Qualifying for the Olympics allows the shooter to fulfill a literal dream of his in 2018 where he saw himself winning the elusive gold for the country.

“That time it was my dream though di ko siya naexpect na ito na yun na gagawin ko na, nakikita ko yung olympic games na totoo pala, that time naiisip ko lang na ang sarap siguro ng ganun feeling then ito na pumasok na ako sa Olympics so we’ll see di natin alam kung yun yung totoong panaginip ko”, Valdez said.

(It was only my dream before, I never expected that now, it’s true, I’m in the Olympics. Before I just thought that it would be a great feeling then now I’m in the games, so we’ll see if my dream will all come true)

Valdez will participate in the men’s 10m air rifle event. He is the first athlete to qualify for the sport since Paul Bryan Rosario participated via wild card entry back in the 2012 London Games.

In Valdez’s corner is his father, also an avid shooter, and Philippine legend Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla who Valdez calls “dad”.

Valdez fondly recalls how Padilla took him and his family under his wing, buying food for them when needed. Valdez certainly looks up to the veteran and hopes to make him and his father proud with a strong showing in the games.

Valdez said that even before the Olympics he was consistently training as there were other tournaments to keep in mind. He said that during the pandemic he focused on his physical fitness as a way to improve performance in addition to protecting himself against the Covid-19 virus.

Nowadays, he has no other focus other than the Olympics as he has less than a month to train for the games.

He will be competing against 30 marksmen with the top 8 placers advancing to the medal round.

The Philippines is certainly behind our straight shooter who joins boxer Eumir Marcial, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo, and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and 14 others who all will hope to garner that elusive gold medal for the country in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Former Olympians share experiences in Olympic Day Webinar

miggydumlao@olympic.ph (Miggy Dumlao) — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 09:12:51 GMT

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics finally set to push through after a one year delay, Olympians and fans are excited about the greatest sporting competition in the world to get under way.

The dreams of athletes to represent their countries are set to be achieved while their nation’s citizens collectively hold their breath and pray that they’ll bag that gold medal when they compete from July 23 to August 8.

While everyone is looking forward to the Olympics, there is one milestone that the world celebrated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) just recently. The International Olympic Day is celebrated every year on June 23 to celebrate the founding of the IOC back in 1894.

According to the Olympics’ website, “The Olympic Day is a celebration of sport, health, and being the best you can be. It invites everyone around the globe to be active.”. The Olympic Day is also a celebration of the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship, and Respect.

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) celebrated Olympic Day with several events such as the Move Challenge and a workout series featuring several national athletes. The POC also held a webinar where three former Philippine Olympians talked about their lives now and experiences representing the country.

Hosted by Akiko Thomson – Guevara, herself a former Olympian for swimming, the webinar featured Rey Fortaleza (1976 Boxing), Jasmin Strachan – Simpao (2000 Taekwondo), and Mary Joy Tabal (2016 Marathon).

Rey Fortaleza, who is the third in his family to represent the Philippines in the Olympics, is now a community leader and media entrepreneur in Canada. Strachan – Simpao, who represented the Philippines in the first Olympics where Taekwondo was first recognized as an Olympic sport, is now a faculty member in the University of Santo Tomas where she is also the head coach of the women’s taekwondo team.

Tabal is the lone active athlete among the trio. She is also the first ever Philippine athlete to qualify for the women’s marathon when she competed in Rio 2016. And while she did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, is keeping her head high and aiming for the 2021 South East Asian Games.

On the Olympics, the trio shared their experiences representing the nation and all three had varying stories.

Fortaleza was 18 years old when he competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics where he was defeated in the quarterfinals. Fortaleza and his team contested the judges decision leading to the loss however it was not overturned. After the Olympics he became the first ever gold medalist for the Philippines in the SEA Games.

Tabal’s olympic story was a roller coaster as she was the last to qualify and thus in the event itself she lacked support. She didn’t have a team to support her to give her cold water during the race unlike other competitors. Her whole body was cramping up during the race and she just pushed through.

When she was one kilometer away from the finish line Tabal said to herself, “Sige lang, kaya mo yan, you just have to reach that finish line and become an Olympian”.

Strachan – Simpao’s olympics was also unique in that she was one of the first athletes to compete in Taekwondo when it officially became an Olympic sport.

“It was a blessing and everything just falls into place according to God’s plan”, she said.

Ending the webinar with messages to future athletes who want to follow in their path, the Olympians highlighted determination, dedication, and focus.

Fortaleza also said that the government should give more incentives to athletes as motivation to perform.

Tabal was much more philosophical and advised athletes to become introspective to find their own motivations and passion.

“Find your authentic self, your passion. You’ll see that because you’re happy doing it, whatever challenges come you will fight because you like doing it. You’re willing to take all the risks.”, she said.

The three guests held their heads high and represented our country well in their time. This coming Tokyo games more Olympians are following in their footsteps to capture that elusive gold medal. Let us all support them in their quest to bring glory to the Philippines.