Of winning an Olympic gold medal

IN the eyes of Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, the Team Philippines has what it takes to deliver the country’s first ever gold medal in the long, rich history of the Olympic Games.

“I strongly believe we’ll have medals in the Tokyo Olympics. Malamang meron tayong gold, silver at bronze medals,” said Ramirez when he guested on Friday at the PSC Hour program of Radyo Pilipinas Dos.

“I’m so excited for the result of the hard work of the athletes, coaches, and NSAs on this journey to Tokyo Olympics in this pandemic,” he added.

A total of 19 athletes, led by world gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo and golfing star Yuka Saso, will represent the country in the Tokyo Games, which unfolds on July 23 under strict health protocols as the host city continues to grapple with the pandemic.

In the same program, PSC chief thanked all the athletes for their sacrifices and dedication to reach their dream of becoming an Olympian which according to him is not an overnight success.

“Yung makarating ka lang ng Olympics, parang nanalo ka na rin ng gold. It’s priceless to be in an international competition lalo na sa Olympics”, said Ramirez

” Mayron din tayong mga baguhan na pwedeng gumawa ng surprises. Hindi naman kailangan na umabot ka ng 12 years para maka-medalya ka sa Olympics. Depende talaga sa talento, coaching, exposure, serendipity, at panahon, maraming factors yan.”

He also said that preparing for the Olympics is not a one-year affair. He explained that for the Tokyo Olympics, preparation started as early as 2016 Rio Olympics. He disclosed that the PSC has spent around two billion on the national team’s expenses from that time to present for the national team’s preparation.

Ramirez also commented that this Olympic campaign can become a uniting factor for the country.

“Sana makatulong sa environment ng Pilipinas. Hopefully, we can unite them. Sana magkaisa ang mga Pilipino dahil sa mga atleta.”

Since is the biggest number of athletes to carry the national colors in the Olympics since the 2004 Athens Games. Five years ago in Rio de Janeiro where the country won a silver medal courtesy of Diaz, only 13 Filipino athletes competed.

At least around seven Filipino athletes are given strong chances to contend for medals in their respective events,led by Saso, whose stock rose following her amazing victory in the US Open three weeks ago, as she became the first Filipino golfer to capture a major championship.

There’s also Diaz, who is seeing action in her fourth Olympic stint and seeking to end her Olympic participation in a blaze of glory.

She is expected to medal, but it’s not going to be easy since there are two Chinese lifters who are standing in her way.

Sports pundits are saying boxers Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Irish Magno, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, and Yulo are also expected to figure prominently in the medal battles of their respective events.

But this can’t be said of the others, specially the swimmers who’ll definitely find competitions very, very tough because of the presence of world class talents.

The others in the team are boxer Carlo Paalam, rower Cris Nievarez, taekwondo’s Kurt Barbosa, skateboard Margielyn Didal, weighlifter Elreen Ando, shooter Jayson Valdez, golfers Juvic Pagunsan and Bianca Pagdanganan, judoka Kiyomi Watanabe, swimmers Luke Gebbie and Remedy Rule and trackster Kristina Knott.