‘LIKE DISNEYLAND’: Filipino Olympians thrilled to enter Athletes Village

Filipino athletes are starting to trickle into the Athletes Village, signaling the start of the final countdown for the Paris Olympics.

First to enter the sprawling 54-hectare property that will serve as the home of more than 14,000 athletes during the entire duration of the Games from 26 July to 11 August are gymnasts Emma Malabuyo, Levi Ruivivar, Aleah Finnegan and Carlos Yulo as well as rower Joanie Delgaco, who will serve as the first Filipino to plunge into action.

Malabuyo loved what she saw inside the Village that has a large dining hall with different food stations catering for different tastes from around the world, a vast gym, training grounds for a number of sports, a polyclinic, prayer rooms and an anti-doping center.

The eco-friendly housing facility also offers bikes to make movement easier. The names of the five residential areas were taken from well-known venues around Paris — Abbesses, Bastille, Dauphine, Étoile, Fêtes — to give athletes from around the world a taste of Parisian lifestyle.

It is located Saint-Denis, just a short drive from Seine River where the opening ceremony will take place on Saturday at 1:30 a.m. (Manila time).

“The Olympic Village is basically Disneyland,” Malabuyo posted on her social media account together with a video of her team, including Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion, enjoying the amenities inside the facility.

Ruivivar also expressed her excitement upon seeing the cardboard beds, which were first used during the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

“This is so stable I can literally jump up and down. The bed is hard, more than I like but it’s amazing,” said Ruivivar, who will be sharing the room with Finnegan inside the Village.

“The Olympic Village is literally a college town.”

Aside from the gymnasts, also already inside the Village are boxers Nesthy Petecio, Eumir Marcial, Aira Villegas, Carlo Paalam and Hergie Bacyadan, who already rolled into Paris after a three-week training camp in Saarbrücken, Germany.

“Eeeeeyyyyyyy. Okay, let’s go!!” Petecio said.

Also expected to arrive are Samantha Catantan of fencing, Kayla Sanchez and Jarod Hatch of swimming, Lauren Hoffman, John Cabang, and Ernest John Obiena of athletics, Vanessa Sarno, Elreen Ando and John Ceniza of weightlifting following suit as the Olympics draw near.

Kiyomi Watanabe of judo will be arriving from Japan while Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina will be flying from the United States.

The country’s top sports officials are already in Paris with Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, POC secretary general Wharton Chan and Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Terry Capistrano arriving on Tuesday, the same time as Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann.

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella, for his part, is expected to arrive on Wednesday.

Delgaco will start the country’s quest for Olympic glory when the women’s single sculls heats starts on 27 July at 3 p.m. (Manila time) at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

At 9:30 p.m., Yulo begins his quest in the men’s artistic gymnastics at the Bercy Arena while Marcial competes in the men’s 80-kg Round of 32 at the North Paris Arena.