PHILIPPINE Sports Commission Chairman Richard Bachmann cited the vital role played by women athletes in advancing the agenda for successful local sports development during the inaugural Women in Sports Awards at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum last Wednesday Night.
“Your contribution to the country is seen and felt by everybody. The community of champions you have established is what we need in advancing our agenda and platforms for all athletes,” Bachmann stressed during the festive occasion.
“To all our awardees, may this be an inspiration in performing your best in every battle in the spirit of dedication and commitment to the sporting community as we all together take steps in achieving a more successful Philippine sport,” he said.
The PSC chief singled out commissioner and bowling great Olivia “Bong” Coo, who was among the seven WIS Lifetime Awardees, for making the event possible and those feted “with the honor that they truly deserve.”
Sen. Pia Cayetano, a major advocate of women in sports who failed to attend due to prior commitments, awarded Athletes of the Year Alex Eala and football forward Sarina Bolden with an incentive of P100,000 each for their exemplary athletic achievements.
Aside from Eala and Bolden, over 46 major awards to national women athletes in various sports were given away on top of citations to sports executives, coaches, nutritionists, trainers and sports psychologists who have made a difference with their respective contributions.
Among those present were weightlifter Hidylin Diaz-Naranjo, the country’s one and only Olympic gold medalist achieved during the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, also one of the recipients of the Flame Award.
Present in accepting major awards were reigning world women’s world 10-ball champion Chezka Centeno, Asian weightlifting silver medalist Vanessa Sarno, and bowler Arianne Cerdena, winner of a gold medal in the demonstration sport of bowling in the Seoul Olympics, who flew all the way from the US to receive her Lifetime Achievement Award.
