Today is the moment of truth for the Filipino athletes who have started wading into battle in the Paris Olympics. Joanie Delgaco, a petite rower from Bicol, was the first to march into action when she competed in the preliminaries of the women’s single sculls event on Saturday. The challenges that she faced were no joke. Before she makes history and becomes the first Filipino rower to land on the Olympic medal podium, she has to outshine the stellar cast of competitors that features former world champions, Olympic stars, and the best rowers on their continents and
regions. After Delgaco, next to compete is Yulo. Hopes are high for Yulo as he is on his second Olympic stint, coming in as a two-time world champion who is capable of springing surprises if he performs flawless routines. But Paris is not Tokyo. Here he no longer has his Japanese coach, Munehiro Kugimiya, by his side, prompting him to come up with new skills, new techniques and new routines if he wants to replicate the success he had when they were still together a couple of years ago. The entire Team Philippines has to step up in Paris. After all, they are coming off a very successful Olympic participation in Tokyo in 2021, where weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz plucked a gold medal that ended 97 years of golden futility. But the athletes will not be the only ones under the microscope at the Summer Games. The Olympics will also be a test of the performance of the sports officials and administrators. The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), for one, is expected to draw attention. In fact, the government’s funding arm for sports nearly dropped the ball when its Philippine National Anti-Doping Organization (Phinado) failed to comply with the latest guidelines of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). With the country’s doping guidelines outdated, WADA cracked the whip and threatened to stop the Filipinos from flying their national colors in Paris. PSC chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann fired back and immediately tasked Phinado to reach out to the Montreal-based doping watchdog to avert what could have been an embarrassing situation for Filipino athletes. On the same note, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is also facing a major test.
After Diaz clinched the country’s first Olympic gold, POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino was confronted with the “beautiful problem” of sustaining the momentum by winning the second gold. He wasted no time. He worked closely with the leaders of various national sports associations to make sure that those with Olympic experience would return, especially Marcial, who was on the brink of
giving up his Olympic dream for the riches of a professional career until Tolentino managed to convince him to stay. Tolentino also worked for the transfer of star swimmer Kayla Sanchez, a two-time Olympic medalist for Canada, who wanted to represent her parents’ country in the Summer Games. And when the Games were drawing near, Tolentino looked for funds to finance the extensive — and expensive — training camp in Metz, the first-ever pre-Olympic camp organized by the POC for Team Philippines. Yes, the camp wasn’t perfect but at least it gave the Filipino athletes a chance to bond and acclimatize as they headed for the biggest and most prestigious athletic conclave in the world. When the dust of the Games finally settles, only two things will happen: either the Filipinos will be celebrating yet another massive Olympic victory or they will point fingers looking for someone to blame for an embarrassing performance.
The PSC is reportedly heading for a changing of the guard. The same goes for the POC as its elections are set towards the
end of the Olympic calendar, making this Summer Games very crucial for Tolentino’s campaign to retain its presidency. Just like the athletes, ranking Filipino sports officials like Bachmann and Tolentino also have to do well in Paris if they want to keep their spots on top.