Team Philippines Leaves the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a Historic Feat
Written by Justin B. Rivera
Layout by Summer De Guzman
Posted on August 10, 2021 | 5:20 PM
Layout by Summer De Guzman
Posted on August 10, 2021 | 5:20 PM
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics highlighted by the Philippines’ first-ever gold medal in 97 years formally ended with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, 7 p.m. (PHT). The ceremony began with each participating country's flag-waving athlete marching in. Following the ceremony, Nesthy Petecio carried the Philippine flag for achieving a silver medal finish in the Women’s Featherweight category in boxing. The Tokyo Olympics may have ended, but the historic achievement of Team Philippines will live on in the hearts of all Filipinos which became feasible because of the athletes’ determination for glory.
It was mission accomplished right on Day 4 when Hidilyn Diaz ended the country’s 97-year wait for an Olympic gold medal with her lift for the ages in the weightlifting competition.
Hidilyn’s win appeared to open the floodgates for a string of victories from Team Philippines, followed by a medal rush from a four-man boxing team making its debut in these Games. Two of the boxers, Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio, even gave the Philippines two more silver medals with outstanding performances in their final bouts. Bronze medalist Eumir Marcial also provided audiences in Tokyo and around the world with a number of memorable fights in the stacked and difficult middleweight division. And though suffering an early exit, Irish Magno also showed a great fight.
Filipino athletes who failed to clinch a medal at the Tokyo Olympics still made the Philippines proud as ever. Carlos Yulo finished fourth in the men's vault final due to a landing misstep in his first run. He did, however, set a new national record with his average score (14.716). Another medal chance was dashed when pole-vaulter EJ Obiena failed to clear 5.80m in the finals at Japan National Stadium. This is due to the fact that he had to plead his case and get another attempt to clear 5.80m after some technical issues prevented him from having a proper try at the height.
Skateboarder Margielyn Didal won the hearts of those who saw her compete in the women's street skateboarding competition with her smiles and positive vibes. She also became a social media sensation among her fellow competitors' countrymen.
Weightlifter Elreen Ando, shattered the country's record in the 64kg division in snatch (100kg), clean and jerk (122kg), and total (222kg). Swimmer Luke Gebbie broke his own national record for the 100-meter freestyle with (49.64), while Remedy Rule finished 15th in the semifinals of the women's 200m butterfly.
Yuka Saso made a huge comeback from 47th place in the first round to a joint Rank 9th finish, while Bianca Pagdanganan failed to recover and finished 43rd at the end of the Tokyo Olympics women's single stroke play golf tournament. In the men’s 58kg competition in Taekwondo, Kurt Barbosa, making his first Olympic appearance faced Jang, a five-time World Taekwondo Federation Grand Prix champion and 2019 World Taekwondo Championships gold medalist, and was promptly dominated, losing 26-6.
Cris Nievare placed 23rd in the men's single sculls rowing competition, making him the first Filipino rower to do so. Kiyomi Watanabe finished 17th in the 63-kg women's judo competition after a crushing defeat in the first 38 seconds of the round. Kristina Knott, the Philippine national record holder in the women's 200 meters, finished 37th in the athletics. Juvic Pagunsan finished 55th in the men's single stroke play golf tournament. Lastly, Jayson Valdez, an MCS high school graduate, finished 44th in the men's 10m air rifle competition.
“Everyone on Team Philippines in these ‘Golden Olympics’ deserves all the praises, and in this case, incentives, they need,” POC President Bambol Tolentino said.
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and key partner MVP Sports Foundation will provide incentives to all members of the Philippine team, including non-medalists. Non-medalists will receive Php 500,000 each, while medalists will receive millions in government and private-sector incentives.
After the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, all eyes are on Paris 2024, with France being the host of the next Summer Olympics.