When Hidilyn Diaz came home a gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, then President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration scrambled to make the most of the moment. They mounted an online courtesy call in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic in which they promised Diaz a house and lot in Zamboanga City and P3 million, apart from the cash incentives guaranteed under Republic Act No. 10699. 

In that same courtesy call, Duterte’s message to Diaz included thanks and a request to forget (an apparent reference to the Palace’s adverse reaction to her call for public assistance for her training): “We are extremely proud… pero salamat naman sa pagtitiis mo. I hope that the years of toil, the years of disappointments, and the years na hindi maganda nangyari in the past, we will just forget them. You already have the gold. Gold is gold and it would be good for you to just let bygones be bygones.”

Sports appreciation in the Philippines has largely been kept within the lenses of entertainment, an opiate, showbiz’s distant cousin, and hardly a celebration of the human physique, strength, and determination. Only a few hours after Carlos Yulo’s first gold medal win, social media platforms were already pumped with vitriol over the drama between him and his mother. The posts had little to do with gymnastics, Yulo’s brilliance, or sports, for that matter. (If there were any, they were directed against basketball, for which the Philippines didn’t even qualify to join the Olympics competition. Ironically, while the limelight shone on gymnastics, these posts alleged that we pay too much attention to basketball… because we short folk, un-ironically, believe that we are tall enough to contend with the likes of Nikola Jokic.)  

In Paris, the Philippines would go on to win two bronze medals in boxing care of Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas’ fists, pole vaulter EJ Obiena would apologize for a beautiful 5.90m leap, and Bianca Pagdanganan would swing valiantly to fourth place in golf. And yet public attention would still be glued to the Yulo household, the royal rumble having now recruited Yulo’s girlfriend Chloe San Jose and his mother’s lawyer Raymond Fortun into the ring. Over social media’s thin veneer of appearances and impressions, “netizens” (a cumbersome word) would chime in at length on the tangentially related topics that media’s laser focus on their personal lives had managed to unearth. But I would argue that this problem is beyond the media, and Filipinos do little to understand sports simply and precisely because we want little to do with sports.

2022 study 

There was an important study that fell between the cracks: “Results from the Philippines’ 2022 report card on physical activity for children and adolescents,” published in October 2022 by the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness. The 9-page paper, citations included, was written by 16 scholars—15 from different colleges of the University of the Philippines (Diliman and Manila) and one from the Education University of Hong Kong. It was intended to “provide a comprehensive assessment of physical activity and other related behaviors, including the various factors and settings that influence these behaviors.” 

After the identification and review of the “best available nationally representative data,” grades were assigned to five indicators: “F” in overall physical activity, “D” in active transportation, “B” in sedentary behavior, “C-“ in school, and “B” in government. The study’s conclusion was that “despite government policies related to physical activity in the country, the majority of children and adolescents in the Philippines do not meet the recommended amount of physical activity for health.”

Even with the paper’s bleak assessments, I enjoyed reading it because of the way it was able to triangulate its analyses and arrive at its conclusion. It was holistic, and its view of sports and exercise was one which included day-to-day movement, taking a snapshot of a sizeable population over an expanded period; it was not just spurred by the occasional medal finish or close fight. 

The primordial mistake we are making in understanding and appreciating sports is how, over the past decades, we do not go beyond seeing them only in terms of their rewards, as tickets out of poverty, or a promise of heaven after a long and difficult life. Anything less difficult, or anything less rewarding, and we no longer see sports as good or worthy. 

When Diaz lifted us to a gold medal in 2021, the dire lack of funding and political patronage in the Philippine Sports Commission became the subject of Atom Araullo’s two-part report for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. But we hardly followed this through, the slapdash solution being only more funding from more private donors. And when the grandmaster Wesley So became an American citizen in February 2021, the focus remained on his personality—some would note his choice for a “better life” in the United States—and not on his genius and hard work as a winner of many chess championships. And, of course, Manny Pacquiao’s boxing defeats after being KO’d hard by Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as his countless falls from grace in politics, could do nothing to tarnish his rags-to-riches story. 

Different view

For a long time now, we’ve been viewing sports only as a linear progression, as if they’re the proverbial tests in many of our folk legends.

There must be a way to view sports differently. In following this one-dimensional narrative template for sports—in which athletes can only win or lose—we have lent a lot of room for corruption and other evils to be seen as mere hurdles to overcome. Or, worse, all these wrongs become default conditions which athletes must simply accept should they want to achieve greatness in their sport. But we can gain so much from more detailed and more complex readings into sports.

We must move toward making these sports easier to understand. One of the remarkable things in Yulo’s two gold medals is that they were won in events which required judges to look critically and to apply their technical expertise in floor exercises and vault gymnastics. In other words, these events can be said to be subjective, their scoring highly dependent on what the judges thought. We Filipinos are often allergic to these “subjectivities” and tend to cheer more for more quantifiable, points-based sports, like basketball or volleyball. But now, with Yulo’s win, we find that our subjective natures can be causes for celebration, too. Grace, timing, beauty, mystery, consistency, decisiveness in motion—all of these are often lost on us when we see only the reward aspect, only the supposed conclusions, of playing sports. 

All the medals have been awarded and the 2024 Olympics has finally ended. But what still interests people are the discussions it opened: the cultural clash in the Dionysian Bacchanalia aka reworking of the Last Supper, the colossal cyberbullying around Imane Khelif and her gold-medal finish, Rachael Gunn’s deliberate flopping and her mockery of breakdancing, the running titan Eliud Kipchoge’s DNF, and now, Carlos Yulo and how everyone just wants a piece of any of his two gold medals. Sports are at the core of all of these. 

Many would say that these are issues which are far from the gut and can hardly put food on the table. Yet there’s a way to see sports differently. Lest we forget, since forever, from the myth of Greek gods playing games in Olympia to the reality in front of us, sports have always been a way to make sense of our lives and a way to arrange the society we live in.

DLS Pineda is a member of the UP Mountaineers and an assistant professor at the Department of English and Comparative Literature – College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines Diliman.

Read more: Quest for gold: Gymnast Carlos Yulo seeks revenge in Paris

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As if the first gold medal that he won in the floor exercise finals on Aug. 3 weren’t sufficiently historic, Yulo ruled the men’s artistic gymnastics vault finals for his second gold on Aug. 4. The feat marks him as the first Filipino to win multiple gold medals in one Olympic tournament.  

“Unbelievable. God is really great and I’m so blessed by Him,” Yulo said when asked about his thoughts on his achievement and being called “the greatest Filipino athlete.”  

He has successfully avenged his 2020 Olympic vault finals performance in Tokyo, where he missed the bronze with his fourth-place finish. He was edged out of the podium by Armenia’s Artur Davtyan—the very gymnast who came second to him in the event finals in Paris. 

Defining 1st vault

Yulo’s opening vault proved to be the key to his historic second Olympic gold, notching an astounding tournament-high score of 15.433. The vault’s difficulty was valued at 6.000—one of the only two 6.000 vaults in the tournament—with an execution score of 9.433.

This first vault was also different from his qualification one, which was valued at 5.600 in difficulty. The Filipino commentators noted that this crucial upgrade was essentially what made the second gold happen, alongside Yulo’s outstanding form and near-perfect landing.

Yulo’s execution of the first vault even led Filipino commentator and gymnastics judge Joy Valenton to call the gold even before his second vault. “I’m smelling a double gold,” Valenton said in the live broadcast.

The Manila native performed a Ri Se-gwang II (RSG2) vault for his opener, which is a double front salto in pike position with a half twist ender. It is essentially a Dragulescu vault—which most of his competitors performed—but in pike position instead of the tuck position for the added difficulty value of 0.400. 

This specific vault was named after Ri Se-gwang, a retired North Korean artistic gymnast who went on to specialize in the vault apparatus after he first performed it live at the 2008 Asian Games in Doha. The 2016 Olympics vault gold medalist has two eponymous skills named after him, the other one being the original Ri Se-gwang. 

2nd vault seals deal

With such a high-scoring first vault, Yulo only needed a safer yet still solid closing vault, which he delivered.

He chose his trusted Kasamatsu double twist with a difficulty value of 5.6, for which he garnered a score of 9.200 in execution, for a total second vault score of 14.800. 

The 24-year-old’s execution score noticeably took a hit due to some minor mistakes and inaccuracies. One error pointed out by the commentators was the slight collapse in form near the end, when he bent his knees. Additionally, he did not land as well as in his first vault, making a huge step instead of keeping his feet together. 

The Kasamatsu vault is named after Shigeru Kasamatsu, a Japanese gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. Interestingly, Kasamatsu has never won an Olympic gold in the vault apparatus. He was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2006.

The winning total

Taking the average of his two vaults, Yulo posted a vault total score of 15.116—his highest vault average in the Olympics. 

His score immediately catapulted him to first place with four more gymnasts yet to perform. He replaced the then score leader, Great Britain’s Harry Hepworth who scored a stunning 14.949 average as the second performer, and never looked back. 

Being the last performer of the event, Davtyan was the ultimate decider of who would end up with the prestigious medals, especially the highly coveted gold. In the end, Davtyan fell short of dethroning Yulo but grabbed the silver medal with an incredible 14.966 vault average. 

Unfortunately for Filipino British gymnast Jake Jarman, he was kicked off the podium into fourth place, with his teammate Hepworth settling for the bronze. Jarman would have claimed a double-bronze medal finish following his podium finish in the floor exercise finals alongside Yulo.

Read more: Quest for gold: Gymnast Carlos Yulo seeks revenge in Paris

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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 in golden fashion, following a disappointing Tokyo 2020 Olympics bid where he narrowly missed a medal finish in vault at 4th place.

“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m feeling grateful for having this medal and for God. He protected me, as always,” Yulo said in an online interview. “He gave me the strength to get through this kind of performance and perform this well.”

Yulo now joins Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz as the two Olympic gold medalists in Philippine history. Diaz achieved her feat at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the 55kg category of women’s weightlifting. 

Other medal hopefuls

With the Philippines on the board in the medal tally, Filipinos are eagerly anticipating for more as several countrymen are one step away from securing a medal finish of their own.

Just hours before Yulo’s victory, EJ Obiena powered through a shaky start to book a ticket to the men’ pole vault finals. The world’s No. 2 cleared both 5.70m and 5.75m in first attempts after failing to overcome the much lower 5.60m bar twice.

“We missed two attempts at 60 and you wanna go at 70? And I haven’t made a bar. Are you sure?” Obiena said as he recalled his coach’s decision to quit the 5.60m and move up a pole with his tournament life on the line with his final attempt. 

It appeared that coach Vitaly Petrov made the right call as the 28-year-old pole vaulter overcame the higher pole with ease.

Carlo Paalam’s medal quest ended in a 2-3 split decision exit in the quarterfinals of men’s boxing 57kg division in the hands of Australian boxer Charlie Senior. 

Filipina boxers

Only two Filipina boxers are left vying for an Olympic medal in the sport. Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas reached the quarterfinals, leaving them with one more hurdle to clear for a medal finish. 

Petecio bested French home bet Amina Zidani in the last two rounds of the bout for an eventual 4-1 split decision victory in the round of 16 of women’s 57kg division.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medalist decided to up the ante in the final two rounds after losing the first, 2-3, in the judges’ score cards. With a much more dominant showing, she flipped the scores with a 5-0 Round 2 performance and a 3-2 final round to clinch the quarterfinals berth.

On the other hand, Villegas pulled off an upset over second seed Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria in yet another unanimous decision victory at the round of 16 women’s 50kg division.

The Tacloban City native outclassed the Algerian in the opening salvo as she quickly established the advantage early on with a 5-0 first round. After a wobbly 3-2 second round in favor of Boualam, Villegas made sure to close it out cleanly in the final round with a 5-0 beating to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals.

The golden routine

Carlos Yulo’s astounding performance netted him a score of 15.0, the only 15-point floor routine of the entire men’s artistic gymnastics tournament. 

Yulo, who performed third, quickly denied Israel’s Artem Dolgopya’s hopes of a back-to-back Olympic gold by pulling slightly ahead of the world champion’s 14.966 routine before him. 

Diving deep into the floor performance, the Filipino performed a much more difficult routine (6.600 d-score) from his qualification one (6.300 d-score). The new routine in Paris, however, was already unveiled by the gymnast in the all-around finals last July 31 where he scored 7.733 in execution—way lower than his impressive 8.4 e-score in this event final.

Level of difficulty

This change in difficulty level can be observed in Yulo’s upgraded second pass of a double twist into a double front tuck combination for the additional 0.3 d-score.

What also set him apart was his overall clean performance with exceptional landings—especially when he stuck his three-and-a-half twist dismount to seal the deal.

Being the third performer out of the eight finalists, Yulo cemented himself early at first place. The country eagerly sat at the edge of their seats.

The bronze medalist, Jake Jarman, was also met with congratulations and pride from the Filipinos due to him being a Filipino British gymnast. The son of a Cebuana native, the athlete representing the United Kingdom scored 14.933, only 0.033 lower than the silver medalist.

Carlos Yulo seeks to enact his revenge once more at the vault event finals on Aug. 4—the very event in which he almost won a medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Read more: Quest for gold: Gymnast Carlos Yulo seeks revenge in Paris

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The 32-year-old silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics schooled Lamboria, younger by 10 years, in all three rounds of the match in the 57kg division of women’s boxing for an eventual 5-0 drubbing. 

With the win, Petecio stood as the only Philippine team representative who survived the brutal Day 7 eliminations. She advances to the round of 16 and is two victories away from securing a medal finish.

Among the Filipino athletes who bowed out of their respective events was swimmer Kayla Sanchez, 23, a Tokyo Olympics medalist. She clocked a Philippine record of 53.67 in women’s swimming 100m freestyle at heat 4, placing her 10th overall going into the semifinals for the Top 16. 

But Sanchez failed to make it to the Top 8 in the finals, exiting the event in 15th place with a time of 54.21 seconds. 

Boxer Eumir Marcial, Petecio’s co-flag-bearer, also lost his chance for a back-to-back Olympic medal finish after suffering an upset loss to Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev in the men’s boxing 80kg division. 

Khabibullaev, 20, seemed too fierce an underdog for Marcial, 28, a bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics. The Filipino struggled to keep up in scoring in the first two rounds, and the Uzbek’s commanding lead proved to be insurmountable as the bout ended in a unanimous decision. 

Rower Joanie Delgaco also lost her chance for an Olympic medal, placing sixth in the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls with a time of 7 minutes 58.30 seconds. She reached the round via repechage, clocking 7 minutes 55 seconds—the fastest time among her competitors. 

Filipino Japanese judoka Kiyomi Watanabe’s Olympic stint was cut short in the opening match, losing to the world’s No. 22 Tang Jing of China via a 20-second pin in women’s judo 63k division.

Height, reach disadvantage

Despite the glaring height and reach disadvantage, the 5-foot-2 Petecio made full use of her speed advantage over the 5-foot-9 Lamboria. She weaved through the Indian’s punches while consistently landing her own to mount her lead early into the fight. 

Her corner could be heard saying in Filipino during the first- round break: “What you’re doing is right. Just don’t get complacent.”  

Petecio’s deep understanding of distance and defense was evident in her head movements and counterpunches, which prevented Lamboria from scoring effectively and seizing the lead.

The judges scored 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of the fighter from Davao.

Petecio returns to action on Aug. 3, when she faces the host country’s representative and reigning European Games champion, Amina Zidani, in the round of 16.

Read more: Quest for gold: Paris is boxer Nesthy Petecio’s ‘final mission’

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The 24-year-old Filipino gymnast has advanced to the final round of the floor exercise, vault, and all-around events. Compared to the performance of other Filipino athletes in the Olympics, his bid for a medal could be the most promising yet.

Several other Filipinos are still in contention in their respective events, while others have bowed out, including Yulo’s female counterparts—Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar, who all failed to make the cut for the finals in women’s artistic gymnastics.

Samantha Catantan also ended her historic debut as the first female fencer to represent the Philippines in the Olympics in the  round of 32 of the women’s individual foil event, but not before giving the world’s No. 2, Arianna Errigo of Italy, a serious run for her money with a 15-12 finish.

Still vying for a medal—excluding those whose events have yet to commence—are boxer Aira Villegas, who was impressive in her Olympic debut with a unanimous decision over Yasmine Mouttaki of Morocco in the round of 32, and rower Joanie Delgaco, who booked a ticket to the quarterfinals after notching the fastest time in the repechage 1 of the women’s single sculls. 

Yulo showed up big in his pet events, scoring 14.766 in floor exercise for a second-place finish and his first Olympic final in the apparatus. He booked yet another ticket to the vault apparatus final with a score of 14.683 for a sixth-place finish. 

With his impressive performance in the floor exercise and vault events and decent showing in the other four events, he concluded the men’s artistic gymnastics qualification at 9th place in the all-around rankings. His score of 83.861 propelled him to his first all-around event in the finals. 

With three chances at the elusive Olympic gymnastics medal compared to his sole chance at the vault final in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Filipino appeared to have weathered the storms in his promising career. 

Yulo parted ways with his longtime Japanese coach and trainer Munehiro Kugimiya last year heading into the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He said he had chosen his “peace of mind” after sensing that his mentor was overstepping gymnastics matters. 

The parting had disrupted his medal streak at the annual gymnastics event, but his fourth-place finish at the floor exercise final qualified him for the Paris Olympics. It also meant moving back to the Philippines from Japan, where he started training in 2017; his training took a hit in terms of losing access to world-class equipment and facilities.

His decision to create a new training environment seemed to be what the star gymnast needed.

Yulo’s sights are now set on the all-around final event on Wednesday, July 31. The floor exercise and vault finals will take place on Aug. 3 and 4, respectively.

Earl Elijah Almazora, a journalism student of the University of the Philippines’ College of Mass Communication, is an intern of CoverStory.ph.

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But there won’t be a repeat for Diaz-Naranjo in the upcoming Paris Olympics. The weightlifter who took the torch from her is Elreen Ando, who competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Ando defeated Diaz-Naranjo in a showdown in the IWF (International Weightlifting Federation) World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, in April—a bittersweet moment for Filipinos who witnessed the sidelining of the Olympics legend and the rise of a new star.

Only one athlete per country can qualify in any weight division in the Olympics. With Diaz-Naranjo’s natural division of 55 kilograms scrapped from the competition, she was forced to move up to 59 kilograms, setting up a face-off against her protégé Ando.

“I was so happy that I got rank No.7 and my ticket for Paris,” Ando said of her victory in Thailand. “I had prepared for so long to return to the Olympics.”

In a perfect world, Ando would prefer to compete alongside her “Ate Hidi.” But then there is no such thing as a perfect world.

Though she was saddened to have caused her mentor’s shocking exit, Ando understands that she had to take care of business.

“Competing against Hidilyn, for me it’s not a conflict,” the 25-year-old Cebuana said. “We had the mindset that whoever qualifies between the two of us, the other one will fully support.” 

Unlike Diaz-Naranjo, Ando is still somewhat of an unknown factor. She is determined to change that as she again takes on the biggest stage in sports.

Nonstop training

Securing a spot in the Paris Olympics has inspired Ando to work even harder. She is aware, after all, that this could be the break she has been waiting for her entire life.

“When I went home to Cebu, I did not stop training,” she said. “We were all still training even if I spent a week in the province.” 

She said she understands that sacrifices have to be made in order to fulfill her dreams. “When I went to the province, I went there to see my family, my siblings,” she said. “But even then, I could not stop training.” 

On top of that, Ando makes sure that she gets sufficient rest and nutrition. She believes that these factors are as important to achieve tip-top condition.

“Discipline. It’s really about discipline,” she said when asked what she believes is the biggest key to success. “Discipline is important when it comes to training, diet, and having enough rest.”

In her father’s memory

Ando will fight for more than just national pride in the Paris Olympics. The weightlifter said she will be competing in the memory of her late father, Lupito Ando.

“Back then, when my papa was still alive, he was my No. 1 supporter,” she recalled. “Then he was gone. So I’m making sure I’m competing for him. This is for him and for my mama.” 

Win or lose, Ando believes that her father will be smiling down on her from above. “He was always proud of me, especially when I competed in Japan. He was extremely proud,” she said, fondly adding:

“When he found out that I qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, his blood pressure went up. That’s how happy he was. Now I miss that feeling, that my papa is always there to support me.”

Ando hopes that in Paris, the second time will be the charm. She missed out on the podium in Tokyo, but that’s exactly why she worked her way back into this position.

After collecting accolades in a number of Asia-wide competitions, Ando believes that she’s ready to take on the best the world has to offer. Asked what her goal is as she takes center stage in Paris, she nonchalantly replied, “A medal of any color will do.”

Read more: Filipino athletes at Asiad eye golds, ticket to 2024 Paris Olympics

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The lingering injuries she could once ignore, feel more serious now. The rest she used to sacrifice to get in more reps of training, feels as valuable as ever.

Father Time is slowly catching up to her and she’s wise to it. But she isn’t really trying to run away.

“I’m not getting any younger. I’m aging, I feel pain here and there,” the 32-year-old Petecio admitted. “When I feel pain, I used to be able to shrug it off. But now, I really feel it. When my body tells me to rest, I listen. Before, I can ignore it and get some extra work done.”

Too many athletes overstay their welcome in their sport. This is the harsh reality that aging stars have to come to grips with in the twilight of their careers. 

This is especially a common theme in boxing—a sport that’s notorious for forcibly retiring its athletes before they get a chance to do it by choice.

And who can blame them? It’s all they have known their entire lives, after all.

But this doesn’t seem like an issue Petecio will have to deal with. She, in fact, already longs for what comes after she fades into the shadows of obscurity. 

“Almost half my life, I’ve already given to boxing,” said the two-time Olympian. “I haven’t had enough time to spend with my family, my siblings. So I really want to enjoy living a normal life after this.”

“I wanna stop waking up at 5 a.m. to get my sweat going. I wanna wake up and just enjoy my cup of coffee in the morning.”

But before all that, one final mission—to try and capture the elusive gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Breaking barriers

Before Petecio’s inevitable swan song in Paris, let’s take it back to the very beginning. The Davaoeña slugger has been a trailblazer from day one.

Born into poverty in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, she was taught boxing by her father Teodoro as a means of self-defense.

“The first time my father introduced me to boxing, I didn’t even know there was a national team or that women were allowed to box,” recalled Petecio. “Because mostly, I only see basketball all around me.”

“When I started training, having this as a career never even crossed my mind,” she continued. “But then I got to watch the 2005 SEA (Southeast Asian) Games when we (the Philippines) hosted.”

Petecio also learned she could make a few thousand pesos in boxing. So at 11, she participated in inter-barangay competitions to help her family make ends meet.

Everything changed on March 17, 2003. Petecio had joined a boxing contest as part of the Araw ng Davao (Day of Davao) festivities.

Equipped with hours and hours of training, young Nesthy was excited to showcase her budding skills. There’s only one problem–she was the only female boxer who signed up.

But then her father had a brilliant or unhinged idea (depending on who you ask). Teodoro was confident his daughter could match up against a male boxer. Nesthy was on board, too. The perceived natural disadvantages didn’t faze her.

“When I was told I was fighting a male, I really wasn’t nervous,” Petecio said. “I was even more excited because I was sparring with boys all the time. That’s probably why my father was so confident that I could do it.”

Girl vs boy

“Before the fight, all the boxers told me, my opponent told me, that he was going to kill me in that ring,” Petecio said of that fateful day. “But I’m enjoying all of it so I was just laughing at him.”

“He even slashed his thumb across his throat, telling me I’m dead. I retaliated and gave him the thumbs down.”

To everyone’s surprise, she won the fight, despite the significant disparity in size and experience.

“I was so happy because everyone watched after they found out a girl was boxing a boy,” she said. “Everyone who watched the other sports came to watch my match.”

“When I got down from the ring, I went to buy something to drink,” Petecio recollected. “The vendor told me, ‘Just take whatever you want, you don’t have to pay.’ She wanted to give me free drinks because she was happy I showed what girls are capable of.”

The win was even made sweeter for Petecio as it ultimately paved her way to joining the Philippine national team, and years down the line, competing in the grandest stage of sports.

Getting knocked down

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Pinay Olympic pugilist. Failure to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016 followed by failure to medal at the 2018 Asian Games sent her down rock bottom.

Nesthy admitted that doubt crept in and the crippling anxiety almost ended her career before she reached her crowning moment.

“After the 2018 Asian Games, I felt so depressed I was crying all the time,” she shared. “The way I felt at that time, I didn’t even want to see a pair of gloves or a ring.”

Thankfully, Petecio had a support system that remained by her side until her demons were purged.

“I was so blessed because of the people who believed in me, the people who supported me during my lowest moments,” said Petecio. “Like (former national team) coach Nolito Velasco, sir Ed Picson, sir Ricky Vargas, and of course, my family.”

Win or lose or whatever I decided to do with my life, I knew they’d support me. These are the people who stood by me during the most dramatic moments in my life.”

To clear her head of all the bad memories from boxing, Nesthy decided to take a break. She wasn’t even sure she was coming back, but got the assurance of the national team that they’ll be waiting whenever she’s ready.

Schooling

For the first time in her life, Petecio pursued a passion outside the ring. She enrolled in the School of International Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Baguio.

“[My coaches] let me do what I wanted, whatever I was comfortable with. When I told coach Nolito I wanted to distance myself from boxing, he told me, ‘Okay, just do the things that will make your mind relax.’”

Petecio revealed that she was so close to quitting the national team that she even considered looking for a day job. Fortunately, her mentors gave her the time and space she needed apart from boxing but kept tabs on her.

“[Coach Nolito] told me, ‘Enjoy your schooling and focus all you’ve got in your studies. And when you’re ready, we’ll still be here, I’ll still be here.’”

Coach Velasco’s words were enough to get Petecio going. “It was a huge thing for me to feel that someone keeps believing in me. Even if they were just few—I don’t need many—I just needed one, two, or three to keep believing in me. That’s all I needed.”

Round 2 in Paris

After winning the silver medal in the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, Petecio feels like her legacy is already set. It’s likely the reason she’s at peace with her approaching retirement.

“To be honest, when I won in the quarterfinals and I knew I was winning the bronze for sure, I was already so happy,” Petecio said of her Tokyo Olympics campaign.

“But when I got into the finals, that was a different feeling. My happiness was through the roof. What I prayed for was only simple, but the Lord gave me so much more than I asked for.”

“That’s when I found out how great the Lord is and that every struggle or challenge that He gives us, He only gives us ‘cause He knows we can conquer them.”

But before she rides off into the sunset, the veteran national team athlete promises to give it her all. She may be content with her legacy, but a shiny gold medal will further solidify her as an icon in Philippine sports.

“My mindset in Tokyo and right now hasn’t really changed that much,” Petecio said of her upcoming bid in Paris. “The only thing I added is that I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the negativity around me.”

Gaining a few years may not be all that bad. After all, Petecio is coming into the Games with greater wisdom.

“I will listen to my instincts and my own ideas more. In Tokyo, my coaches couldn’t get on the same page when it came to formulating a game plan for the finals.”

“Honestly, that confused me because I didn’t know who to listen to. But [in Paris], if that happens again, I’m just gonna let them have at it, but I’m going with my gut.”

Read more: Quest for gold: For EJ Obiena, pressure is a privilege

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He had all the momentum to pull it off, too. After all, Yulo was the reigning world champion in floor exercises.

However, his dreams went up in smoke after committing costly mistakes in the qualifying round. Even worse, those errors occurred in his signature event—the floor exercise—where he was supposed to dominate.

No wonder payback is on Yulo’s mind as he returns to the grandest stage in sports in July.

“For me, Paris is all about revenge for what happened in Tokyo,” said the top Pinoy gymnast. “This time, I’m making sure I’m delivering the performance I’ve been preparing.”

Equipped with newfound confidence and three more years of experience since his disappointing bid in Japan, jitters will no longer be a factor for the two-time Olympian.

“During my first time, I was still an amateur,” he admitted. “I didn’t have experience competing on such a huge stage. I was overwhelmed and lacked self-confidence.”

“But now, I can really say that I can breathe better. I’m not overconfident, but I’m not low on myself. I’m just grounded in reality and I know I can achieve special things if I just prepare right.”

Gaining steam

Once again, Yulo is set up nicely to have a good showing in Paris. In March, Yulo competed in the Baku, Azerbaijan leg of the 2024 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series, where he snagged the bronze medal.

“Settling for the bronze in Baku, that was just part of me achieving my goals,” Yulo said. “I just want to keep learning.”

“And in Baku, I was just really doing trial-and-error. It was just a matter of assessing my weaknesses and finding room for improvement.”

The following month, the 24-year-old set his sights on the Doha leg of the same series in Qatar. 

Yulo didn’t need to compete, having already qualified for the Summer Games months earlier. But he wanted to get in as many reps as he could heading into his second Olympics campaign. And so he did and bagged the gold medal in parallel bars and silver in vault in the process.

“My ‘loss’ in Baku really paid off in Doha,” he said. “I was able to show what I was training for. So I was really elated, but I knew I needed to do more work.”

High goals

It’s no secret that Yulo’s strengths lie in the parallel bars, vault, and floor exercise events. Still, he doesn’t intend to just punt on the three other apparatus (horizontal bar, pommel horse, and still rings).

“I’m still going to focus on the three events, where I really have a good chance,” Yulo said. “But I still want to do them all.”

“My main concern is that I’m competing in all six events. So I really need to be consistent in all six.” 

“I think I have a strong chance of winning all-around,” proclaimed the Malate, Manila native. “Others may say I can only succeed in three of them, but I really believe I can win the all-around title.”

Shunning criticism

Controversy has always hounded Yulo throughout his career. Due to his feud with some members of his own family, he is often on the receiving end of harsh public scrutiny. 

Though such circumstances could serve as a distraction, especially for athletes of Yulo’s ilk, the Manileño acrobat admitted that he’d grown numb to its effects. 

“My critics don’t really know me,” Yulo said. “And of course, I’d like my private life to remain private. So the only thing that matters to me is my opinions and how I feel about things.”

“The goals that I want to achieve and the dreams that I have–those are the only things I’m focused on. And, of course, I also think God has set me out on this mission.”

Asked if he uses criticism as motivation, Yulo answered, “Not really. I’m really just focused on my mission.”

“As long as I’m not hurting anyone and encroaching on other people’s rights… As long as I’m happy and I know I’m a good person, I’m alright with that. I can sleep at night.”

“What really motivates me is whenever I commit mistakes. Every time I see little opportunities to improve, that’s what keeps me going.”

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Last June 21, members of media and other guests witnessed not just a sendoff for our 2024 Paris Olympics-bound athletes but also the partnership that was forged by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and Allianz PNB Life in support of the Philippine team that will compete in the City of Light from July 26 to Aug. 11.

“We are trying to help our athletes who qualified [for the Olympics and Paralympics] and it’s good to see that even the private sector and the government with Allianz are supporting our athletes,” PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann told Coverstory.ph. 

The PSC, he said, wanted the athletes to focus on their training. Funding for the Olympics and the Paralympics comes 100% from the PSC, he pointed out.

All requests of national sports associations that are qualified for the Olympics and Paralympics, including equipment and training abroad, are being funded by the commission, Bachmann said. “We are also trying to improve facilities and dormitories for our athletes moving forward, and even after the Olympics.”

Beyond the brand

Joseph Gross, Allianz PNB Life president and CEO, said that when the insurance company works with partners like the PSC and the athletes, it looks at how it can add value to the lives of these partners.

“I don’t believe in just putting on a logo. That’s branding. That’s meaningless. It’s okay but that’s not what we as a company is about,” he said.

Citing Bachmann, Gross said the life of an athlete is end to end. “You start, you train, you build your career and you’re hopefully very successful, but at some point in time all of us know that a career’s over.”

When this comes, he said it should not make the athlete dread about the next chapter of his or her life. “This is just the start of a journey that we are going to do because yes, we support the athletes, yes, we work with foundations, etc., but I’d like to go much more with the direction that Chairman Bachmann said on how we can work with athletes.” 

That could start by employing the athletes early, training them, and helping them succeed—a gain for both Allianz and the athletes, he said.

Allianz also works with Henry V. Moran Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2009 to help the poor through community development, education, and livelihood, as part of the foundation’s futsal for development program for young children. 

“This has helped get them off the streets and do something reasonable like financial literacy and life values,” Gross said.

Among other projects, Allianz is opening up a partnership with volleyball star Alyssa Valdez, who is planning to put up a volleyball foundation aimed at bringing the sport to young Filipino women and helping them get off the streets, develop a strong personality and build a career of their own. 

Send-off

The athletes who came for the send-off event were boxers Hergie Bacyadan, and Olympic silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam who will both be the Philippine flag-bearers in the Paris Olympics; and weightlifters John Ceniza, Elreen Ando, and Vanessa Sarno.

The country’s para-athletes led by swimmers Angel Otum and Ernie Gawilan, thrower Cendy Asusano, wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan, and archer Agustina Bantiloc, were loudly cheered when they were introduced and asked to share their experiences. The 2024 Paris Paralympics will be held from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

When asked about the chances of our athletes to win a medal, Bachmann said: “Right now, for all the athletes who qualified, I will support them and expect [them] to win … all sports. I don’t want to pick what sport, but again we will back them up 100 percent. Just the athlete qualifying already for the Olympics is huge. And it’s a blessing, an icing on the cake, if they bring home a medal.” 

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz gave the Philippines its first Olympic gold medal in 2020 in Tokyo, showing Filipinos that this was doable.

Read more: After KO win, Marcial sees action in Paris Olympics

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Next stop, the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Marcial’s thunderous left uppercut found Sinam’s chin, sending the Thai to the realm of ghosts and shadows. There was a delayed reaction when the blow connected, but Sinam’s legs eventually gave out as he hit the canvas.

He was given a chance to stand back up, but referee Danrex Tapdasan reached the count of 10 at the 1:33 mark of the fourth.

Chin’s the target

“If you noticed, in the first and second rounds, I was trying to land the uppercut on his chin, instead of his body,” Marcial told reporters in the post-fight scrum. “His chin was my target.” 

“I tried it twice in round two then told myself I would maintain the jab,” he said. “I knew it was only a matter of time before I caught him with my uppercut.”

“I was really satisfied with the result because that was our plan. We were hoping to end the fight before the fourth round,” he added,

It was sweet for the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist, but what made it sweeter, according to Marcial, is that he was able to put on a free show in front of his compatriots.

“I’m very thankful to every Filipino who went here tonight,” said Marcial, addressing his fans. “I didn’t expect that it would feel this amazing to see my kababayans cheering me on.”

The victory boosted Marcial’s professional record to a spotless 5-0 with three knockouts.

Excellent jab

No doubt, the uppercut was the memorable highlight of the night. However, it was Marcial’s steady diet of jabs that set up the win.

Marcial was particularly proud of how he utilized his jab, emphasizing how big of an asset it would be on the Olympic stage.

“This was the plan coach DJ [Zamora] and I have been working on,” revealed the Zamboangueño. “We really wanted to use more jabs because when I get to the US to train, my partners there are excellent at jabbing.”

“I couldn’t connect very well when they were jabbing me. So my coach told me, this is what we needed to work on. More jabs and then the knockout will come to us.”

The longtime Philippine national athlete will compete in a new weight class of 81 kilograms in the upcoming Olympics. And although he’s comfortable fighting in this new division, Marcial expects to be the smaller fighter against most of his opponents.

For this reason, Marcial believes he’d need to be as crafty as ever.

“When it comes to the Olympics, you can see the Cubans, the Central Americans and the Latin Americans, when they fight, they use their jabs so well. They can win just by jabbing their opponents the entire three rounds.”

“So that’s what I’ve been practicing. I’m ramping up the volume of my jabs and putting more power behind them because it’s a very effective strategy in amateur fights.”

Olympics-bound

Saturday night’s showcase was nothing but a glimpse of what’s to come for Marcial—Paris 2024, where he will have the opportunity to improve upon his bronze medal finish in Tokyo.

For Marcial, having a pro fight in the books ahead of the Olympics is necessary to avoid ring rust.

“This fight was huge for me because after I qualified [for the Olympics] in the Asian Games last year, I didn’t have any exposure,” Marical said. “It’s one thing just to keep on training and another to have something to really train for.”

In April, Marcial will officially join the Philippine national boxing team for their training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. That’s where he will stay before heading straight to France in July.

The post After KO win, Marcial sees action in Paris Olympics appeared first on CoverStory.