REDEMPTION TOUR: Delgaco out to avenge Phl rowers’ Olympic heartbreaks

Joanie Delgaco will not just simply compete when she sees action in the Paris Olympics.

She will also carry out a very important mission of emerging victorious to finally avenge the string of setbacks suffered by Filipino rowers in the biggest and most prestigious athletic event in the world.

National team head coach Edgardo Maerina raised a sense of urgency, saying that the 26-year-old Delgaco is pumped up and ready to win to earn the distinction of becoming the first Filipino rower to win an Olympic medal.

No Filipino rower had emerged with an Olympic medal since the sport was introduced in 1900.

Maerina was the first Filipino rower to compete in the Olympics when he saw action in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Then, Benjie Tolentino represented the country in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

There was a long lull after that until Cris Nievarez paddled his way to the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Nievarez, the pride of Quezon Province, made history as he made it past the preliminaries to qualify in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles sculls event.

Now, it’s Delgaco’s turn to represent the country for a victory that will not only make her the first Filipina rower to win but also set the tone for the campaign of the entire Filipino delegation.

Delgaco will start paddling in the women’s single sculls event on Saturday at 3 p.m. (Manila time).

“When we trained in Germany, she raced against single and double sculls boats,” said Maerina, fully knowing the pressure of becoming the first athlete to compete for the 22-man Filipino contingent.

“Since she was racing against a double sculls boat, we gave her a 20-second handicap. She was able to catch up to the final 500 meters,” the mentor added, recalling the intensity of their training camp in Trier, Germany last week.

“She did well in training as we want her to get better times than she did at the regatta in South Korea.”

Delgaco will be paddling with fire in her eyes.

In the 19th Asian Games in China last year, the paddler from Camarines Sur made it to the final round but settled for fifth place with a time of eight minutes and 05.93 seconds.

She reserved her slot in the Summer Games after clocking 7:49.39 to finish fourth in the World Rowing Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta in Chungju, South Korea last April.

Now, the challenge is how she can win an Olympic medal against a powerhouse field that is bannered by the likes of Olympic champion Emma Twigg of New Zealand, Olympic bronze medalist Magdalena Lobnig of Austria, Anna Prakaten of Uzbekistan, Liu Riqui of China and Shiho Yonekawa of Japan.

“We have to break the time she set in the qualifying and make it better. We’ll try to make her sustain that for the competition,” Maerina said.

“We would always train with currents, which is good. I hope in Paris, she’ll be able to do better in the flat river.”

Delgaco said she wants to make it to the semifinals and hope a deep run would be possible.

“I didn’t get a podium finish in the Asian Games. My opponents there are the same ones I faced in the qualifiers,” Delgaco said.

“I think I can go as far as the semis.”

From the semis, anything can happen. It’s anybody’s race.