AT least for a day, Aira Villegas proved she deserved the spotlight over her more illustrious Team Philippines compatriots and gave the country some blissful feeling after three Fil-Am gymnasts kissed their bids in the Paris Olympics goodbye.
While most of the Pinoy bets in the French capital waited for their time to shine, Villegas outclassed Yasmine Moutakki of Morocco via a unanimous 5-0 decision early yesterday in the opening round of the women’s 50kg class at the Arenas Paris Nord.
The pride of Ormoc City, Leyte, Villegas’ maiden victory in the Games gave her a slot in the round-of-16 this Thursday opposite Algerian No. 2 seed Roumaysah Boulam.
Among those who watched Villegas’ impressive win was Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann.
“It’s incredibly fulfilling to me, as a fan, witnessing our Olympians excel and raise the bar,” Bachmann said. “Their overall showing in every battle, win or lose, continues to elevate the success of Philippine Sports.”
The win should sooth some pain for the 22-strong Philippine contingent after the early exit of fencer Samantha Catantan in the women’s individual foil round-of-32 last Monday.
A few hours after Catantan’s 12-15 loss to world No. 2 Arianna Errigo of Italy, the troika of Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo and Levi Jung-Ruivivar showed up at the mats of the Bercy Arena carrying golden hopes to pull off a breakthrough performance.
Range against the best, they failed.
Ruivivar, 17, emerged as the top overall finisher among her teammates, winding up 40th with a total of 51.099 points, statistically tied with Malabuyo, who was 41st with the same tally.
Finnegan, a double gold winner in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi 2021, ended in 47th place (50.498) as the trio, the first women gymnasts to carry the country’s colors in the Greatest Show on Earth, failed to advance.
A Louisiana State University standout, Finnegan came closest to advancing in an individual event, finishing 17th overall in the vault with 13.383 markers, with the top eight clinching finals berths.
But Bachmann is unfazed.
“Our athletes had an excellent start to our campaign in Paris,” Bachmann said.
“This demonstrates how collective efforts from both government and private sectors enable our athletes to maintain great mental and physical readiness throughout the competition.”
Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcial launch their drives today, determined more than ever to surpass their feats in the Tokyo edition of the grandest sports spectacle three years ago.
Petecio, who captured a silver medal in 2021, takes on India’s Jaismine Lamboria in the round-of-32 of the women’s 57kg class at 11:54 p.m., Manila time.
Marcial, who bagged the bronze in Tokyo, had a first-round bye and will clash with Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev in the round-of-16 of the light-heavy class at 3:04 a.m., Manila time.
Boosted by topping the repechage two days ago, rower Joanie Delgaco returns to the elegant Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium today in Heat 3 of the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls.
Delgaco emerged as the fastest in the 2,000-meter race in the wildcard round with a time of 7:55.00 last Monday that made up for her 7:56.26 finish in the heats for fourth last Saturday.
Today will be Marcial and Petecio’s second chance at boosting their hopes of finally hitting pay dirt. While already assured of a top 24 finish, will the third time be a charm for Delgaco and a semifinals stint in the less popular sport?
Before 6 p.m. last night, Japan paced the medal tally with four golds, two silvers, and one bronze, while South Korea trails its east Asia neighbor with a four-two-one haul so far.
Australia is running third with four mints and two silvers.
The United States is in fourth place with three-six-three.
