As I write this, the news is that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is giving P1 million to every Filipino athlete coming home from the Paris Olympics and P20 million to two-time gold medalist Carlos Yulo. This is not unexpected from the government. When Hidilyn Diaz came home a gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics in...
Tag: EJ Obiena
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Difficult routine leads gymnast Carlos Yulo to Olympic gold
Revenge is a dish best served golden. Filipino gymnastics star Carlos Edriel Yulo delivered a dazzling 15.000 routine in the men’s floor exercise event finals for the Philippines’ first ever gold in artistic gymnastics at the Paris 2024 Olympics last Saturday, Aug. 3. With the historic win, the Manila native succeeded in his revenge tour...
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Quest for gold: For EJ Obiena, pressure is a privilege
All eyes are on pole vaulter EJ Obiena as the Philippines makes its bid to capture the ever-elusive gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. It’s no secret that much is expected of Obiena in his upcoming campaign. He’s the second-highest ranked pole vaulter in the world, after all, and he knows there’s a ton...
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The Philippines at the 19th Asiad: highs and lows
With the close of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Oct. 8, the Philippines can take solace in the fact that with four gold medals, it has at least matched its harvest in the 2018 edition of the quadrennial tournament held in Jakarta, Indonesia. With 4 gold, 2 silver, and 12 bronze medals,...
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Filipino athletes at Asiad eye golds, ticket to 2024 Paris Olympics
The biggest Asian Games (Asiad) in history opens on Sept. 23 in Hangzhou, China, with over 12,000 athletes participating, or more than the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ 11,420. For the 395 Filipino athletes competing in 37 sports from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8, the 19th edition of the quadrennial event—which was delayed a year due to...
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19 golds so far, but it’s a rough road ahead for Philippines at SEA Games
Win some, lose some. The Philippines sits in fourth place in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games’ (SEA Games) medal tally, with 19 gold, 28 silver, and 31 bronze medals as of the evening of May 8, and that ranking will expectedly be challenged by several factors in the remaining nine days. As host country, Cambodia had...
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Obiena heads back to training with sights set on 6-meter mark
Ernest John “EJ” Obiena was on easy street on home grounds. In the three weeks that he was in the Philippines for much-needed R&R, the world’s No. 3 pole vaulter was peppered with profit-making deals that made him ambassador of top consumer brands. Of course, there were also the mandatory courtesy calls to various sports...