Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino issued a warning to Filipino athletes vying for slots in the Paris Olympics: Brace yourselves.
Tolentino bared that the year 2024 will not be easy as athletes compete in various international events that offer slots and qualifying points for the Summer Games that will be held from 26 July to 11 August.
So far, only four athletes in EJ Obiena of athletics, Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan of gymnastics, and Eumir Marcial of boxing have punched tickets to the biggest and most prestigious athletic event in the world.
Two more athletes from swimming and one from athletics are expected to join Team Philippines via universality slots while a handful from cycling, golf, boxing, gymnastics, taekwondo, weightlifting, lawn tennis, swimming and athletics are being groomed to qualify.
But Tolentino warned that the road to Paris is quite narrow as bets from other countries are also working hard and determined to compete in the first ever staging of the Olympics in the post-pandemic era.
“This will be a tough year for us. Paris is just around the corner,” Tolentino, also the mayor of Tagaytay City, said.
“Before we get there, there are tough competitions for our athletes to qualify. If we do not have a lot of qualifiers, we will focus on the podium. The qualifiers are tight. Everybody is performing well following the end of the pandemic. Everybody is preparing for this to show their talents and redeem themselves.”
Tolentino cited the case of the North Koreans, who flaunted their might with 11 gold, 18 silver and 10 bronze medals for a 10th place finish in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
“North Koreans performed well in the Asian Games. I think all they did was train during the pandemic,” the POC chief added.
“Then, you still have the Europeans and the Americans. The Africans are also preparing. It’s going to be tough. It’s like threading the eye of a needle.”
It’s going to be Tolentino’s second Olympic stint as POC boss.
He made history when he emerged as the first POC chief to lead the country to an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo following Hidilyn Diaz’s masterful performance in the women’s 55-kilogram event.
A total of 19 athletes comprised the national delegation in the Tokyo Olympics with former football president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta serving as chief of mission.
Tolentino is hoping to match the number of participants in the previous Olympics with the all-out support from the government, especially the Philippine Sports Commission.
“We need all the support — moral, financial, among others,” he said, adding that he is plotting a pre-Olympic training camp in Paris at least one month before the Games.
“We will be sending qualified athletes to Paris at least one month before the Olympics. We will push it through. We already signed the contract and they are more than willing to welcome our athletes from athletics, swimming and boxing, who are the early qualifiers.”
“Hopefully, we can send more athletes to make it worth it. It also favors them because if these athletes emerge with a podium finish, they will be proud to say that they trained with them. Let’s just keep pushing. Bahala na kung saan tayo hahanap ng funding.”
But before the training camp in Paris, Tolentino encouraged national sports federations to provide their athletes with intensive training, international exposure, foreign coaches and proper nutrition to make them competitive in qualifying tourneys.
“Let’s continue our exposure, including the hiring of foreign coaches. It’s very important,” he said.
“If there will be problems with the funding, the government should understand. The battle is now different. Pahabaan na ng pisi yan. Palaliman na ng bench.”
“Let’s just cross the bridge when we get there. But definitely, these are all part of our Olympic journey.”
