NO medal of any color yet in the Paris Olympics but Team Philippines is doing a great job, according to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
“Our athletes displayed strong performances two days into the Games,” Tolentino, who checked on the venues anew where the Pinoy bets were to do battle yesterday, said. “We have to note that during the qualifying rounds all athletes were giving their best in order to secure their spots in the next round.
“So, it was a tough one for them, but they still did an excellent job advancing,” he added.
After the unique opening ceremony at the magnificent Seine River last Saturday, rower Joanie Delgaco kicked off the country’s drive in the women’s single sculls at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium yesterday.
Late last Saturday, two-time world gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo shone in his first and pet event, the floor exercise, with a high score of 14.766 points, good for second overall that enabled him to finish ninth overall in the men’s individual all-around standings with a total of 83.631 markers in six apparatuses at the Bercy Arena.
Yulo, 24, also dazzled in the vault, scoring 14.566 points for sixth place, propping up his goal of finally bagging a medal from the Games after his disappointing maiden Olympic stint in Tokyo three years ago.
His other scores were 13.066 in the pommel horse (40th); rings, 13.00 (49th); parallel bars, 14.553 (19th) and horizontal bar, 13.466 (27th).
A total of 26 gymnasts, including Yulo, advanced to the finals of the event on Wednesday while the top eight in each discipline will see action in the finals this Saturday beginning with the men’s floor exercise.
Delgaco, 26, nearly advanced to the quarterfinals outright in Heat 2 when she clocked 7:56.26 for fourth.
The Iriga City, Camarines Norte native bounced back yesterday and topped the repechage, clocking 7:55.00 to gain a Last Eight slot.
While Yulo and Delgaco stayed in the hunt, fencer Samantha Catantan was sent home packing by top seed and world No. 2 Arianna Errigo of Italy 12-15 in the women’s individual foil round of 32 at the Grand Palais.
But not without making history.
Nursing an apparent knee injury, the charming right-handed Catantan pulled off a stunning 15-13 squeaker over Brazil’s Mariana Pistoia in the round of 64.
Seeing action at press time last night in the women’s all-around qualifiers were the Filipino-American trio of Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo and Levi Jung-Ruivivar, who were in Subdivision 3 of five subdivisions starting) with the balance beam.
The three-women contingent then moves on to the floor exercise, vault and uneven bars, respectively.
Boxer Aira Villegas also kicks off her campaign against Morrocco’s Yasmine Mouttaki in the women’s 50kg division early today at the North Paris Arena.
As of 7:30 p.m. last night, Australia was leading the medal tally with three gold and two silver medals courtesy of cycling and swimming, respectively, while China has three mints and one bronze.
Korea was running third with 2 gold medals, while the United States had a mint, silver, and bronze medal each from swimming and a silver and bronze from diving and cycling, respectively.
This year’s Biggest Show on Earth will run until Aug. 11 and like the rest of the field, Team Philippines has just only set in motion its 100th year of participation in the Olympics with a big target–prove to the world its 1-2-1 haul in Tokyo in 2021 was no fluke.
