Fight for pride, glory

Olympic fever is heating up and Filipino athletes are all pumped up, ready to deliver a memorable performance in the Summer Games that will open on 26 July by the River Seine in Paris.

Team Philippines is loaded.

Ernest John Obiena, the second-best pole vaulter in the world, will be marching to the Games older, wiser and better after surpassing the 6.0-meter mark, something that he could only dream of when he competed with sweaty palms and cold feet under the bright lights of the previous Olympics in Tokyo.

Boxers Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial are also expected to deliver.

Sure, they will be treading a path filled with landmines planted by former Olympic medalists, world champions and elite punchers, but they also have their own arsenal brought by the success of their previous Summer Games campaign.

Aside from them, two other boxers — Hergie Bacyadan and Aira Villegas — will be around, ready to spring surprises in the sport that had given the Filipinos so much success and heartbreaks in the past.

Also, we should not be counting the gymnasts out.

Carlos Yulo, despite his controversial separation from his Japanese mentor, is being counted on to deliver in his second Olympic stint.

This time, he will not be alone as he will be supported by three female gymnasts who were sharpened and polished in the United States — a country that has won a total of 37 Olympic gold medals in artistic gymnastics.

Filipino-American Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo and Levi Jung Ruivivar will all be coming with sterling credentials, making them heavy favorites to win gold medals in the biggest and most prestigious gymnastics stage in the world.

All three of them, in fact, used to be part of the US national team that saw action in various international tournaments with Finnegan winning the gold medal in the 2019 Pan American Games.

Rounding out the Filipino qualifiers are fencer Samantha Catantan, rower Joanie Delgaco, and weightlifters John Ceniza, Elreen Ando and Vanessa Sarno, who are all expected to figure prominently as they step out of the giant shadow of Hidilyn Diaz, the first Filipino to win an Olympic gold medal.

But the 15-man Filipino delegation is not yet complete.

By next week, a fresh batch of athletes will be joining the Paris party as the qualifying windows formally come to a close.

Golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina will formally qualify after making the top 60 list of the qualifying pool, while tracksters Kristina Knott, John Cabang and Lauren Hoffman will be joining the Olympics for making the cut-off in their respective events.

Another former Olympian in Kiyomi Watanabe of judo will also be booking a return flight to the Summer Games and, if luck will roll his way, skateboarder Jerico Francisco will be catching the Olympic bus as well.

Aside from them, two more athletes from swimming will punch tickets to Paris via universality place — or the slots given to countries who have no representatives in centerpiece sports like athletics and swimming.

With that, the Philippines is on its way to sending its biggest Olympic delegation in 32 years with 24 athletes.

But President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. doesn’t want them to just simply show up, play and call it a day.

Instead, he wants these athletes to compete with pride, passion and courage while wearing a smile on their faces to show the world what a Filipino is made of.

He said they are carrying not just the national flag but also the hopes and dreams of a nation that is fractured by politics, religion and ideologies. There is a massive expectation that comes in every single punch, jump and run that these athletes will do in the Olympics.

Yes, the battle in Paris will not be easy. There will be joys, heartbreaks, and a lot of lessons along the way.

Still, the results will hardly matter.

The most important thing is that these athletes are ready to do their best and prove that the Filipinos have what it takes to shine under the bright lights of the biggest, most prestigious sports event in the world.

The Chief Executive was very clear with his instruction: Fight for pride, glory.

If these brave Filipinos will follow it to the letter, good things will definitely happen.