GOLD FOR OBIENA?

Posted By on July 25, 2024

by Henry L. Liao

Around 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will be strutting their stuff in the Paris Olympics from July 26 to August 11.

Among them are 22 Filipino athletes from nine disciplines – athletics, boxing, fencing, gymnastics, golf, judo, rowing, swimming and weightlifting.

Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting gifted the country with its first-ever Olympic gold during the 2021 Tokyo Games (postponed by a year due to the pandemic) – a first since it debuted in the quadrennial spectacle in 1924.

EJ Obiena of the Philippines: [photo from EJ Obiena - Ernest Obiena Facebook page]
EJ Obiena of the Philippines: [photo from EJ Obiena – Ernest Obiena Facebook page]

In Tokyo, four Filipinos reached the medal podium. In addition to Diaz’s historic performance, there were the silver medals of Nesthy Petecio (featherweight) and Carlos Paalam (flyweight) in women’s and men’s boxing, respectively, and the bronze medal brought home by EumirMarcial in men’s boxing (middleweight).

Diaz failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics, but a number of our athletes will climb up the Eiffel Tower in search of a medal. There’s the world’s second-ranked men’s pole vaulter in EJ Obiena, a product of Chiang Kai Shek College and the University of Santo Tomas who is a gold contender.

How about Carlos Yulo in gymnastics and returning Olympic boxing medalists Marcial and Petecio?

Since joining the Summer Olympiad for the first time in 1924 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the Philippines has captured a total of 14 medals.

The Philippines’ medal tally in Olympic history consists of one gold, five silvers, and eight bronzes.

Of the 14 medals, eight have come from the sport of boxing.

Our Olympic boxing medalists in addition to Paalam, Petecio, and Marcial are 1-Jose Villanueva (bronze, bantamweight division, 1932 Los Angeles, USA), 2-Anthony Villanueva (silver, featherweight, 1964 Tokyo, Japan – the son of Jose Villanueva), 3-Leopoldo Serrantes (bronze, light flyweight, 1988 Seoul, South Korea), 4-Roel Velasco (bronze, light flyweight, 1992 Barcelona, Spain) and 5-Mansueto (Onyok) Velasco (silver, light flyweight, 1996 Atlanta, USA – the younger brother of Roel Velasco).

Other Filipinos who earned a podium finish in the Summer Olympics are multiple medalist Teofilo Yldefonso (bronze, men’s 200-meter breaststroke, swimming, 1928 Amsterdam, Netherlands; and bronze, men’s 200-meter breaststroke, 1932 Los Angeles, USA); Simeon Toribio (bronze, men’s high jump, athletics, 1932 Los Angeles, USA); Miguel White (bronze, men’s 400-meter hurdles, athletics, 1936 Berlin, Germany): and double-medal winner Hidilyn Diaz, who in addition to being a 2021 Tokyo gold medallist also snatched a silver during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Henry Liao
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