Yulo, Marcial, Delgaco jumpstart PH campaign in Paris Olympics

MANILA – Gymnast Carlos Yulo, boxer Eumir Felix Marcial and rower Joanie Delgaco will open the Philippine campaign in the Paris Olympics on July 27, a day after the opening ceremony by the Seine River.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino has high hopes that this year's batch will match the feat of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who plucked the country's first gold, or surpass the silver medals of boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio – all achieved in Tokyo 2020 (held 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic).

"We're looking forward to Caloy [Yulo], Eumir and Joanie giving the country that strong start in Paris. They're all ready and inspired and in high spirits," Tolentino said in a statement on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Yulo, who placed fourth in the vault event in Tokyo, will compete in the qualification round of the men's individual all-around beginning at 9:30 p.m. (PH time). The finals will be on July 31.

Marcial, on the other hand, will see action in the light-heavyweight division, also at 9:30 p.m.

The 23-year-old pride of Zamboanga City, who has a 5-0 record as a pro, bagged the middleweight bronze in Tokyo.

"Our training camp in Germany is almost complete and we're already counting down the days until it's time to compete. Please continue to pray [for] and support us. Let's go for gold, PILIPINAS (Philippines)!" Marcial posted on Facebook on Friday.

Meanwhile, Delgaco hopes to reach the women's single sculls final. The heats are set at 3 p.m. (Philippine time).

She is the Philippines' first female rower to qualify for the Olympics.

Edgardo Maerina (1988 Seoul), Benjamin Tolentino Jr. (2000 Sydney) and Cris Nievarez (2022 Tokyo) were the other rowers who previously made it to the Olympics.

"This team, I believe, is the most prepared in Philippine Olympic history," Tolentino said, also expressing his gratitude to the Philippine Sports Commission for supporting the athletes' training.

"Our athletes have trained and prepared through a tried-and-tested template that guarantees an Olympic medal."

Aside from Yulo, the world champion in floor exercise (2019) and vault (2021), the other three gymnasts who qualified for Paris are Filipino-Americans Aleah Finnegan, Levi Jung-Ruivivar and Emma Malabuyo.

Joining Marcial, Petecio and Paalam in the boxing team are Aira Villegas and Hergie Bacyadan.

The other members of Team Philippines are Vanessa Sarno, John Ceniza and Elreen Ando (weightlifting); EJ Obiena, John Cabang-Tolentino and Lauren Hoffman (athletics); Kayla Sanchez and Jarod Hatch (swimming); Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina (golf); Kiyomi Watanabe (judo); and Samantha Catantan (fencing).

The Philippines is celebrating its 100th year of participation in Paris, which will gather 10,714 athletes from 206 nations competing in 329 events from 32 sports from July 26 to Aug. 11 (PNA)