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Philippines, 21 May 2025 |
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Philippines? Olympic slots mulled at SCOOP PhilBoxing.com Sat, 28 Jan 2012 Steeplechaser Rene Herrera looks to have the inside track in joining long jumper Maristella Torres in carrying the country?s colors in athletics in this year?s Olympic Games in London. National coach Joseph Sy announced this Friday during the SCOOP Sa Kamayan weekly session at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura, adding though that should nobody else make it in the remaining qualifying competitions set until July, the 31-year-old is it. ?Rene is the personal choice of Mr. Go (PATAFA president Go Teng Kok) to make it to London and unless somebody else qualifies until the last qualifying competitions in July he?s a cinch to make it,? Sy said during the forum, sponsored by Coca Cola Export, FILA and UNTV. Torres, 29, of San Jose, Negros Occidental, earned the ticket to London when she won the gold medal in long jump in last year?s SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia, with a 6.71-meter leap that broke both the Philippine and SEA Games record, which she jointly held. Herrera rounded out the two-gold medal haul the Filipino runners, throwers and jumpers scooped up in Palembang. He has a personal best 8 minutes and 49.08 seconds in the 3000-meter steeplechase. The only other Filipino athlete assured of a place in the London edition of the quadrennial conclave is flyweight Mark Anthony Bariga in boxing although swimming, which like athletics is a must Olympic sport, is also entitled to two berths, one male and one female. The governing Philippine Aquatics Sports Association has yet to decide though who it will name to what is expected to be a lean national delegation. Fencing and cycling, meanwhile, two of six remaining sports hopeful of sending athletes in London, are currently preparing their respective hopefuls for the qualifying events scheduled from today until the final day of qualifying competitions set by their respective international federations. Fencing president Victor Africa and his executive directress Maria Leonor Estampador disclosed that fencers Emerson Segui and Wally Mendoza are presently in deep training to vie for six slots allotted to Asia in the comic Olympic qualifying tournament scheduled April in Japan. Another fencing aspirant, Michelle Marcelino, Estampador, said, is also preparing herself in Arizona, USA, likewise, in an effort to make the London trip. One other chance for our Filipino fencers to earn Olympic berths is to avail of at least one of the eight unused slots reserved for Europe. ?But we don?t think we can be entitled to that because, as I said, those slots are reserved for European countries, so our International Federations might, naturally, opt to give them to European fencers,? Estampador, erstwhile no. 1 fencer in the country reasoned out. Philcycling secretary general Armando Bautista, for his part, said his association is tapping two world-class Fil-Am riders who are based in Los Angeles who both signified their intention to carry the country?s flag ? Daniel Caluag and Alexander Vergara. ?Both, actually, were members of the Philippine team in last year?s SEA Games, but were not allowed to race because they were carrying two UCI (International Cycling Federation) licenses, one issued by then U.S. and the other by Philcycling,? Bautista lamented. ?This is because before opting to ride for the Philippines, they used to race carrying the U.S. colors. When they came here, their U.S. licenses were still valid, so di pinayagan ng Asian Cycling Federation na tumakbo noong last year?s SEA Games,? he said. One other problem confronting the Filipino cyclists, according to Bautista is the still unresolved leadership imbroglio in Philcycling which is being claimed by two groups, one headed by former Philippine Sports Commission chair Philip Ella Juico and the other by Tagytay Mayor Abraham ?Bambol? Tolentino.  |
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