A small delegation with big dreams quietly took the first step to the Paris Olympics when it left for France to open a training camp in the coastal city of Metz on Saturday morning.

No less than Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and POC secretary general Wharton Chan spearheaded the small group of national athletes that boarded an Emirates flight to Dubai that would take them to the French capital.

From Paris, they will travel to Metz, where they are set to open a training camp that will serve as the final stretch of their preparation for the Summer Games, something that Team Philippines had never done before in past editions of the Olympics.

Joining Tolentino and Chan are Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villagas and Hergie Bacyadan, rower Joanie Delgaco, and weightlifters Elreen Ando, John Ceniza and Vanessa Sarno.

The only Manila-based Olympian who stayed behind is gymnast Carlos Yulo, who is set to leave for France next week.

Tolentino said the goal is simple: Surpass their previous performance in the Tokyo edition of the Summer Games three years ago.

“Definitely, we will beat the Tokyo medal count. If we get one gold medal there, we need to get at least one more gold medal than what we had last time,” Tolentino said in a news briefing at the NAIA Terminal 3.

“I think the morale of the athletes and officials are very high because this might be the first time we will be together before competing in the Olympics.”

True enough, the Filipinos will be marching to the Olympics on 26 July with high morale.

Ernest John Obiena, the second-best pole vaulter in the world, is being counted on to deliver a medal while Eumir Marcial, Paala, and Petecio will enter the Games older, wiser and better following a podium finish in the previous edition in Tokyo.

The gymnasts are also expected to make an impact as Yulo as well as Aleah Finnegan, Levi Ruivivar, and Emma Malabuyo were all trained abroad, giving them a solid chance of winning a medal in a purely subjective sport.

By next week, there will be a fresh batch of Olympic qualifiers in Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina of golf; Lauren Hoffman, John Cabang, Robyn Brown and Kristina Knott of athletics; Kiyomi Watanabe of judo; and — if luck rolls his way — Jericho Francisco of skateboarding.

There will also be a pair of swimmers who will be included in the list via universality place, or the slots given to athletes from countries with no Olympic representatives in a centerpiece sport like swimming.

Daily Tribune sources said the Philippine Aquatics, Inc. is set to nominate former Olympian Kayla Sanchez and Jarod Hatch as representatives.

Chan said state-of-the art facilities await Filipino athletes in Metz, giving them a fighting chance against athletes from first-world countries who have been using modern technology to improve their performance.

“The facilities are top of the class. There’s hyperbaric, restotherapy, the hospital is complete, private, top of the line,” Chan said.

“So, the hyperbaric chamber is one with the air which gives you a good oxygen level in your body. You’ll be inside a capsule or a container there to get good oxygen levels and maintain the optimum limits of your body. We have the restotherapy, the one-of-a-kind equipment introduced to us by the Department of La Moselle. We also have ventosa, it’s a vacuum type, not the old school. We have ice baths to cool off our bodies.”

He added that they won’t be sharing the training facilities with other nations.