IOC denies Manny Pacquiao's Paris Olympics bid

No Pacman in the French capital.

Filipino boxing fans won't be seeing Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao in the taraflex in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

This is after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) denied the Philippine Olympic Committee's (POC) request to include the former eight-division world champion on their roster for the Summer Games, as he was overaged.

Pacquiao turned 45 years old last December 2023, while the age limit for Olympic athletes is 40 years old.

The only path for the General Santos City's fighting pride to qualify for the quadrennial meet is via the qualifiers.

"Too bad our beloved boxing icon is disqualified because of his age and that everybody needs to go through qualifiers, in all sports, to be able to participate in Paris," POC president Bambol Tolentino said.

Even so, he can't still participate in these qualifying tournaments, given his age was already beyond the regulations, as IOC Director for National Olympic Committee Relations James McLeod explained in a letter he sent to POC.

"The only valid boxing qualification system for Paris 2024 is the one approved by the IOC Executive Board in September 2022, published and distributed to NOCs and boxing national federations on 6 December 2022," McLeod said.

"This includes the age limit of 40," he added.

McLeod also explained that Pacquiao was ineligible for a Universality berth because the Philippines had an average of over 10 athletes in the last two Olympic editions.

"The Universality places for the Olympic Games will not be allocated to NOCs with an average of more than eight athletes in individual sports/disciplines at the last two editions of the Olympic Games," McLeod stated.

In the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 combined, the Southeast Asian side paraded 32 athletes, 19 alone in the Japan meet, where Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo earned the country's first-ever gold medal. Moreover, boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio bagged the silver, while pugilist Eumir Marcial copped bronze.

Last August 2023, Pacquiao's camp reached out to POC for the possibility of the boxing legend donning the national color in the biggest multi-sporting event, stating it was his dream to represent the tricolor. In 2016, Pacman could compete in Brazil in 2016 but declined to focus on his senatorial duties.

READ: Pacquiao stresses dream to represent PH in 2024 Paris Olympics as opportunity to qualify looms

So far, four Filipinos already secured their tickets to Paris: pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnasts Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan, and boxer Eumir Marcial.