Filipinos brace for Youth Olympic Games
PI Durden Wangkay is expected to make his presence felt when he competes in the men’s 200m run of the 4th Youth Olympic Games in Senegal starting 31 October.
Photograph courtesy of POC MEDIA POOL
Nine young Filipino athletes aged no older than 17 will be marching to Dakar to see action in the 4th Youth Olympic Games from 31 October to 13 November.
Carrying the country’s colors in Dakar are Pi Durden Wangkay (men’s 200m) and Naomi Marjorie Caesar (women’s 800m) of athletics, Jamesray Mishael Ajido (men’s 100m butterfly) and Riannah Chantelle Coleman (women’s 100m breaststroke) of aquatics, Maritanya Krog (women’s road and individual time trial) in cycling, Tchelzy Maayo and Hillarion Palles III of artistic gymnastics, Angel Polo (women’s Taijiquan combined) of wushu and Jade Justiniane in windsurfing of sailing.
Philippine Taekwondo Association secretary general Rocky Samson is the Chef de Mission to the YOG that is being staged every four years (Singapore 2010, Nanjing 2014 and Buenos Aires 2018) like the Summer Olympics. The Dakar edition is the first time that an Olympics event is being held on African soil.
The YOG come off the heels of the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games where the country posted an improved performance with four gold, nine silver and 16 bronze medals, and before the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Riyadh from 13 to 21 December.