SPORTS leaders should scout and train their athletes early so they can develop and flourish in international competitions such as the Southeast Asian Games, according to Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day; athletes do not become champions overnight in international play like the SEA Games. It’s good to start them young since it takes time to develop them,” Ramirez said yesterday.
He specifically pointed to Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and world champion Carlos Edriel Yulo, who stamped their class in weightlifting and gymnastics, respectively, in Hanoi, as products of long-term programs that made them elite athletes.
“Diaz is a product of the PSC grassroots development program when she first made her debut as a wild card entry at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at 17,” recalled the PSC chief, the national team chef de mission of the national contingent at that time.
“Hidy did not do well in the 2012 London Olympics but won a silver medal in the Rio Summer Games in 2016 during the start of our second term as PSC chairman. She finally delivered the country’s first gold in Tokyo last year,” Ramirez said.
A protégé of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines since he was eight years old, Yulo has emerged as the country’s top athlete in Vietnam with five gold and two silver medals. He also did the trick in 2019 back home.
“Before Caloy became a world-class athlete, he excelled in the Batang Pinoy and the Palarong Pambansa,” said Ramirez. “Yulo’s skills were homed in both events and that helped him become an outstanding gymnast.”
