EVEN Olympics.com, the official website of the International Olympic Committee, has acknowledged that this could be the country’s golden Olympic moment, citing seven Filipino campaigners who could strike gold in the Tokyo Summer Games opening on June 23.
In a story headlined “The Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo? Loading…” posted July 17, Saturday, golfer Yuka Saso, weightlifter Hidylin Diaz, gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo, skateboarder Margielyn Arda Didal, pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena and boxers Felix Eumir Marcial and Nesthy Petecio were mentioned as the national bets tipped to end the country’s 97-yeardry spell.
It noted that Rio Olympic silver medalist Diaz, who is making her fourth straight Olympic appearance, is a “woman on a mission.”
The Zamboanga City pride “became the first woman from the Philippines to win an Olympic medal, inspiring an entire generation of Filipinas to dream big. Now she’s on a mission to take the next step and empower (Filipina) women even further as the first person to claim gold.
“Diaz has paved the way (in) putting Filipino weightlifting on the map, now others are following and just imagine what a gold medal in Tokyo would do for women and weightlifting across the country.”
The story described US Women’s Open champion Saso as “another ground-breaker with a shot (for gold).
“Saso is the first golfer from her country to win a major and she did as a teenager,” it stressed of the golfer who tied Inbee Park as the youngest golfer to win the US Women’s Open at 19 years, 11 months and 17 days when the South Korean first won it in 2008.
“She (Saso) turned pro in 2019 and at 19 already had her first major, this history-making hitter is just getting started,” it added.
The Tokyo-based Yulo, the reigning men’s artistic gymnastics world floor exercise champion, was described as “another history-maker flipping into the Olympic Games with great expectations.
“When Yulo became the 2019 world floor exercise champion in Stuttgart, he was the first Filipino to top the podium in Filipino red-white-and-blue. Now he’s set on flexing his way to Olympic glory, the first Filipino to become a gymnastics world champ could be the first to win a gold medal.Over a 100 million people (back home) hope so.”
Also mentioned prominently was Obiena, who “gets better with every jump, with every competition, and is climbing closer towards that crucial 6-meter mark,” referring to the height he needs to jump to be in strong medal contention.
The lean and lanky pole vaulter set a national record of 5.87 meters set in bagging the silver medal at the Irena Szewinska Memorial in Bydgosszcz, Poland last July 3.
“Win that gold, that’s it man. That’s really hard to achieve, but that’s the goal. That’s why I’m doing all this, not to get second, not to get third…to win it,” Obiena, who has had stay at the World Athletics elite training camp in Formia, Italy since 2015, reiterated of his intentions in Tokyo.
