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.

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 The KOI has withdrawn its commitment to organize the ANOC World Beach Games and the ANOC General Assembly, slated for August 2023.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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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