Pinoy YOG bid goes full swing
MARITANYA ‘Ems’ Krog (center) with coach Mark John Lexer Galido (left) and coach Marita Lucas pose at the NAIA Terminal 3 before boarding a flight to Senegal for the 4th Dakar Youth Olympic Games.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF POC MEDIA POOL
DAKAR, Senegal — The Philippine campaign shifts to gymnastics on Saturday and goes full swing on Sunday in the Dakar 4th Youth Olympic Games that has been dominated so far by Japan with China and the Russian Federation playing catch up.
Hillarion Palles III will be first up in the men’s qualification for the individual all-around, the only event he’s entered because the Philippines doesn’t have a complete team in the games, same with Tchelzy Maayo.
Maayo takes her turn in the women’s qualification at the Dakar Exhibition Center in Diamiando on Sunday, the same day action in athletics, cycling and windsurfing get going in separate venues.
Three Southeast Asian teams are so far in the medal tally with Singapore winning gold in women’s taijiquan combined, where Angel Polo finished fifth, and Indonesia bagging silver in men’s Changquan also of wushu and in women’s -63 kgs of judo and Vietnam a bronze in men’s Taijiquan combined.
“Just like in the Summer Olympics (regular), competition here is tough and our three neighbors have medaled in a sport that’s not in the Olympic program, except for judo,” Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino said on Thursday.
“But we have four more shots at a medal,” said Tolentino, who’s joined by POC secretary general Atty. Wharton Chan in the small Philippine secretariat alongside chef de mission Rocky Samson and Shawn Hendrix Telebrico.
Jamesray Mishael Ajido wound up his campaign in swimming on Wednesday, finishing fifth in the 50 meters butterfly final in swimming where his rivals were much taller than his 5-foot-2 frame.
“I didn’t execute the swim that I wanted to,” said Ajido, winner of a bronze in the Bahrain 2025 Asian Youth Games, a gold medalist in the Southeast Asian age-group championships and multiple champion in the Palarong Pambansa.
“I thank everyone for the support for my campaign and I will not only cherish this YOG experience but learn a lot from it,” said Ajido, one of only two Filipino swimmers here — Riannah Chantelle Coleman swam her last event, the 50 meters breaststroke, on Thursday morning at the Dakar Olympic Pool.
Cyclist Maritanya Krog, windsurfer Jade Justine Justiniane and trackster Pi Durden Wangkay were expected to arrive early evening Thursday with their coaches from a 30-hour flight from Manila via Istanbul.
Krog competes in women’s individual time trial in Corniche, Naomi Marjorie Caesar in the women’s 800 meters semifinals at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop Stadium and on Justiniane at the Saly Beach West all on the Saturday.
The men’s 200 meters semifinals where Wankay is entered are set Tuesday.
Japan leads the gold medal race with five in swimming and one in table tennis on top of one silver and three bronzes, followed by China with a 4-3-1 tally (two golds in rowing and one each in swimming and wushu) and the Russian Federation — whose flag is being raised for the first time since 2022 in an International Olympic Committee event — with 3-2-0 (golds in swimming).