HIGH HOPES: Yulo, Delgaco keep Phl medal aspirations alive

Gymnast Carlos Yulo and rower Joanie Delgaco brought hope with inspired showings on their fronts while fencer Samantha Catantan displayed the indomitable Filipino fighting spirit despite overwhelming odds in an eventful first two days of Team Philippines’ campaign in the Paris Olympics.

Yulo made the finals of his signature events floor exercise and vault, plus the men’s all-around on Saturday as one of the country’s top podium bets stayed true to his billing.

The 24-year-old gymnast advanced into the medal rounds of his pet events: all-around, floor exercise and vault.

Yulo, a two-time world champion, finished second in floor exercise with 14.766 points and landed sixth in vault with 14.683 points.

The second-time Olympian earned a total score of 83.631 points to emerge ninth in the all-around event.

Meanwhile, Delgaco topped her heat in the repechage Sunday as she rowed her way into the quarterfinal after missing the cut in her preliminary run in the women’s single sculls the day before.

A first-time Summer Games participant, the Camarines Sur native was in control of the race from start to finish for a clocking of seven minutes and 55 seconds at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical St. — Flatwater.

Relaxed and steadier compared to her jittery debut, where she crossed the finish line with a time of 7:56.26, Delgaco blew past the competition to claim one of the two quarters seat at stake in Heat 1.

Thi Hue Pham of Vietnam came in second (8:00.97).

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino lau lauded Yulo and Delgaco for leading Team Philippines’ potent start in its 100th year participation in the Olympics.

“Our athletes displayed strong performances two days into the Games,” Tolentino said.

“We have to note that during the qualifying rounds all athletes are giving their best in order to secure their spots in the next round.”

“So, it was a tough one for them but they still did an excellent job advancing,” he added.

Yulo returns on the mat for the final of the all-around on Wednesday before competing in the medal round of floor exercise on 3 August and vault on 4 August.

Delgaco will have a day to rest before plunging to the quarterfinal on 30 July at 3:30 p.m. (Philippine time) at the same venue.

On the other hand, first-timer Catantan surpassed expectations after hurdling higher-ranked Mariana Pistoia of Brazil in the Round of 64 and gave world No. 2 Arianna Errigo of Italy a big scare before eventually folding in a thrilling showdown Sunday at the Grand Palais.

Catantan etched her name in Philippine sports history after delivering the country’s first Olympic fencing victory in 32 years.

The Penn State standout, the lowest-ranked fencer in the draw at No. 266, overcame an early 4-7 deficit and an apparent knee injury to defeat the No. 65 Pistoia with an exciting 15-13 victory that marked the first time a Filipino fencer has won a direct elimination match at the Olympics.

Barcelona Olympian (1992) and now Philippine Sports commissioner Walter Torres won one bout and lost five, but it was in the Round of Pools, failing to qualify for the finals at 53rd spot out of 59 participants.

“We scouted the Brazilian well,” Catantan’s Filipino coach Rolando “Amatov” Canlas said.

Canlas predicted that Catantan would be able handle her Brazilian foe, citing Pistoia’s lack of experience in major international competitions.

Despite the historic win, Catantan faced a formidable opponent in Errigo.

The 36-year-old Italian proved too strong, eventually defeating the Filipina, 15-12.

Errigo set the tone of the match at 4-0, but Catantan fought back to take a 5-4 lead. The Italian answered with two straight hits for a 6-5 advantage at the end of the first round.

The gold medalist in the 2012 London Olympics, posted her biggest lead of 11-6 in the second, but the 22-year-old Catantan would not go away.

She came within striking distance until the third at 12-14, before Errigo secured the win with a point in the final 54 seconds.

As of presstime, Filipino-Americans Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Ruivivar are competing in the women’s artistic gymnastics subdivision 3 at the Bercy Arena on Sunday.

Boxer Aira Villegas, on the other hand, has entered the ring to fight Yasmine Mountaqui of Morocco in the women’s 50kg Round of 32 at the North Paris Arena.