{"id":3618,"date":"2024-07-26T16:45:50","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T15:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kabayanremit.com\/blog\/?p=3618"},"modified":"2024-08-05T11:14:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T10:14:13","slug":"2024-paris-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kabayanremit.com\/blog\/community\/2024-paris-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipinos in the 2024 Paris Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With the <\/span>2024 Paris Olympics<\/span> happening from 26 July to 11 August, all eyes are on the Philippine team to replicate their Tokyo 2020 performance and bring home the gold.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Team 2020 saw weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz win the country\u2019s first gold medal, while boxers Eumir Marcial, Carlo Paalam, and Nesthy Petecio brought home bronze and silver medals for the Philippines.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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This year, the Philippines returns to Paris\u2014where the country debuted as the world\u2019s first Southeast Asian Olympic participant a century ago\u2014to surpass their previous record and cement their place as a team to beat.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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As the Olympics draws nearer, let\u2019s get to know the 22 high-calibre Filipino athletes making their way to the City of Lights.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Athletics<\/h3>\n\t
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\"Illustration<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n

EJ Obiena<\/h4>\n\t
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Ranking second in the world for men\u2019s pole vault, EJ Obiena made his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, where he finished in 11<\/span>th<\/span> place.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Obiena comes from a family of athletes; in fact, his father was his pole vault coach until he was 18. He made waves as a college athlete, breaking national records when he competed for the University of Santo Tomas.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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As a professional athlete, Obiena became a Southeast Asian and Asian Games gold medallist and record breaker. Merely months before the <\/span>2024 Paris Olympics<\/span>, he broke another record in February 2024 by clearing 5.93 metres and going beyond the previous <\/span>Asian indoor pole vault record<\/span><\/a> set in 1998.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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In his second Olympic appearance, Obiena aims to make it to the podium and bring home a medal for the Philippines.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

John Cabang Tolentino<\/h4>\n\t
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A Filipino from Spain, John Cabang Tolentino holds the Philippine national record for men\u2019s 100-metre hurdles, having completed the feat at 13.37 seconds.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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The 22-year-old has been running for the Philippines since 2022 and has since been going up the ranks in international competitions. He recently won the country a bronze medal at the <\/span>2024 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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As of July 2024, the <\/span>World Athletics Organisation<\/span><\/a> ranks Tolentino in the world\u2019s top 40 male athletes in 100m hurdles.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Lauren Hoffman<\/h4>\n\t
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Filipino American Lauren Hoffman holds the national record for women\u2019s 400m and 100m hurdles. Already a track athlete in Duke University, Hoffman joined the Philippine national team after learning her performance record qualified her to represent the country. She began running under the Philippine banner in 2023, breaking national hurdling records along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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\u201cI have the potential to be something great,\u201d she recently told <\/span>Rappler<\/span><\/i><\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m on track to do something great. And I would love to represent the Philippines while I\u2019m competing professionally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Gymnastics<\/h3>\n\t
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Carlos Yulo<\/h4>\n\t
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Carlos Yulo made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he narrowly missed a podium finish for men\u2019s vault by a few decimal points.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Artistic gymnastics enthusiasts are hoping Yulo will finally win a medal at the <\/span>2024 Paris Olympics<\/span> despite entering the competition <\/span>without a coach<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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In 2023, Yulo amicably parted ways with his <\/span>longtime trainer Munehiro Kugiyama<\/span><\/a>. He was set to train with a new coach, Tomoharu Sano, that same year, but plans fell through after Sano was forced to bow out due to an injury.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Coachless<\/span>, Yulo surprised the elite gymnastics community by <\/span>failing to stick a landing in two routines<\/span><\/a> at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. Yet despite a rocky start, he still managed <\/span>to secure an Olympic spot<\/span><\/a> by excelling at floor exercise. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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His most recent accolades include a <\/span>bronze<\/span><\/a> medal from the 2024 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series in Baku, Azerbaijan and <\/span>gold and silver medals<\/span><\/a> in the same event\u2019s Doha, Qatar leg.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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CORRECTION<\/i><\/b>: While he was initially coachless in the early days of his journey to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Yulo later found a coach in Aldrin Casta\u00f1eda, who used to train the gymnast<\/i> at the junior level.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Aleah Finnegan<\/h4>\n\t
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Filipino American Aleah Finnegan began her gymnastics journey when she was just two years old, following in the footsteps of her three older sisters. In fact, her eldest sister Hannah was also part of the Philippine team and represented the country in the 2011 SEA Games.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Finnegan was already an elite gymnast in the United States and had even attempted to join the U.S. national team for the Tokyo 2020 Games. While she failed to qualify for Team USA, she did receive an invitation from the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines to join the country\u2019s national team.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Finnegan bagged gold and silver medals in the 2021 SEA Games wearing Philippine colours. I<\/span>n 2023, she qualified for the <\/span>2024 Paris Olympics<\/span> by <\/span>ranking 32<\/span>nd<\/span> in the women’s all-around event<\/span><\/a> at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championship in Belgium. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Levi Jung-Ruivivar<\/h4>\n\t
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The youngest athlete in the Philippines\u2019 2024 Olympic lineup, Levi Jung-Ruivivar has been garnering awards since she was 10 years old. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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The 18-year-old Filipino American had been competing for the US until Philippine gymnastics coach Cliff Parks invited her to join the Pinoy national team. In April, she <\/span>clinched<\/span><\/a> a spot in the Olympics by winning silver in uneven bars at the 2024 FIG World Cup in Doha. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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After her Olympic debut, Jung-Ruivivar will be joining the gymnastics team at <\/span>Stanford University<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Emma Malabuyo<\/h4>\n\t
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Emma Malabuyo already had a taste of the Olympics when she was an alternate for Team USA in Tokyo 2020, but she wanted more. By joining the Philippine gymnastics team, she traversed a journey of ups and downs to finally make it to Paris.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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In 2023, she represented the Philippines in the Asian Games, where she bagged a silver medal for the floor event at the Asian Gymnastics Games. This was the highest award for a Filipina gymnast in the AGC.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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However, Malabuyo endured two heartbreaks on the way to the Olympics: (1) her team at the University of California \u2013 Los Angeles <\/span>lost<\/span><\/a> the National Collegiate Athletics Association\u2019s regional competition; and (2) she <\/span>failed to secure an Olympic spot<\/span><\/a> at the 2024 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Unwilling to surrender, Malabuyo gave it one more shot at FIG\u2019s Uzbekistan leg, where she won a bronze in the individual all-around event and <\/span>qualified<\/span><\/a> for the <\/span>2024 Paris Olympics<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Boxing<\/h3>\n\t
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\"Illustration<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n

Olympic medallists<\/h4>\n\t
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Boxing was the Philippines\u2019 best sport at the previous Olympics, with three podium finishes in Tokyo 2020. For the Paris games, these three Olympic medallists will return to the international arena:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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