LET THERE BE LIGHT: Delgaco, Yulo spark Team Phl campaign in Paris

The long wait is finally over as 22 brave Filipino athletes are set to formally kick off their quest for glory in the Paris Olympics that officially got underway with an incredible, never-before-seen opening parade at the Seine River a little past midnight of Saturday (Manila time).

Donning a Pintados-styled barong crafted by renowned designer Francis Libiran, boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio carried and waved the Philippine flag in one of the 85 boats that snaked through the six-kilometer stretch to formally signify the Filipinos’ entry to the biggest and most prestigious sports event in the world.

Joining Paalam and Petecio — two medalists in the previous Summer Games in Tokyo — in the opening parade were first-time Olympians Aira Villegas and Hergie Bacyadan of boxing, Lauren Hoffman and John Cabang Tolentino of athletics, Jarrod Hatch of swimming, Aleah Finnegan of gymnastics and Samantha Catantan of fencing.

Kayla Sanchez, who won a pair of Olympic medals as part of the Canadian relay team in Tokyo, also rode the Filipino boat that also had a handful of sports officials like gymnastics president Cynthia Carrion, boxing secretary general Marcus Manalo, swimming president Michael Angelo Vargas, athletics president Terry Capistrano and chef de mission Jonvic Remulla.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino wasn’t part of the official parade as he joined other members of the Olympic family on the banks of the Seine while Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachman joined the gallery with other sports ministers, dignitaries and heads of state led by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The pageantry, which was witnessed by an estimated 300,000 cheering spectators, was historic as it was the first time for the Summer Games to open outside an athletic stadium, a decision that was fraught with danger since it happened at a time when France is on its highest alert for terrorism and protests brought by the wars in Europe, the Middle East and a failed assassination attempt on former United States President Donald Trump.

For the Filipinos, the Paris edition of the Games is very sentimental as this is the same exact place where they started their Olympic dream in 1924 — exactly a century ago.

The Filipinos are marching to the Games oozing with confidence as they are coming off their best ever finish after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz copped their first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo three years ago.

With that, the Philippines joined the elite list of Southeast Asian countries who already have Olympic gold medals composed of Thailand with 10, Indonesia with eight, Vietnam with one, and Singapore with one.

First to wade into battle will be rower Joanie Delgaco and gymnast Carlos Yulo, who is making his second straight Olympic stint after falling short in Tokyo in 2021.

Delgaco, the 26-year-old pride of Camarines Sur, will be competing in the women’s singles sculls event at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium armed with the mission of becoming the first Filipino rower to land on the Olympic podium.

She will be paddling at Heats 2 at 4:24 p.m. (Manila time) together with a star-studded cast composed of a former Olympic medalist and rising stars of the sport.

Among those who will challenge the diminutive Philippine Navy personnel in the 2,000-meter race is Karolien Florjin of the Netherlands, Nina Kostanjsek of Ukraine, Aurelia-Maxima Janzen of Switzerland, Nihed Benchadli of Algeria and Majdouline El Allaoui of Morocco.

The 26-year-old Florjin is considered as a powerhouse of the sport after being part of the Dutch squad that won the silver medal in the women’s coxless four event of the Tokyo Games. Aside from that, the Amsterdam native is also a two-time single sculls world champion, making her the favorite to rule the event.

But Delgaco’s coaching staff is hardly worried.

“In the race course, it’s a bit lighter compared to what we expected,” said national team coach Ed Maerina, also an Olympic rower who competed in the Summer Games in Seoul in 1988.

“I said it’s lighter because usually, the direction of the wind is from the tailwind. She rowed faster compared to when she was in Metz and Germany.”

Maerina said they, together with their Ukrainian coach Shukrat Ganiev, had already carefully plotted their game plan that aims to make a historic appearance in the semifinals.

“In order to enter the quarterfinals, you should be in the top three of your heat. If you don’t make it to the top three, you still have a chance via repechage the following day,” said Maerina, who has been working with Delgaco in France for the past several weeks.

“The balance is good and the rig of the boat is good. That’s all. Our foreign coach (Ganiev) said that the acceleration and brace strokes are increasing.”

A few hours after Delgaco’s preliminaries, it’s going to be Yulo’s turn to see action at the 20,000-seater Bercy Arena.

Yulo said he will go all out in his 9:30 p.m. (Manila time) performance in the men’s qualification subdivision 2 in a bid to capture his first Olympic gold medal after a fruitless stint in Tokyo.

“My training is more flexible this time,” said Yulo, who will compete without in the Olympics for the first time without his Japanese coach, Munehiro Kugimiya.

“I discovered myself being independent, being happy about what I do.”