Delgaco tops heat, moves to sculls q'finals; hurting Catantan exits

MANILA – First-time Olympian Joanie Delgaco booked a slot to the next round after topping the repechage 1 heat of women's single sculls at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Sunday.

Delgaco finished in 7 minutes and 55 seconds while Vietnam's Thi Hue Pham came in second in 8:97 to outrace three others to the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

The other Southeast Asian, Saiyidah Rafaee of Singapore, finished third in Heat 2 at 8:23.03, way behind qualifier Elis Ozbay of Turkiye who clocked exactly eight minutes.

Earlier Sunday, Carlos Yulo got three shots at landing a medal in the men's artistic gymnastics event held at Bercy Arena.

After the third subdivision, Yulo amassed a total of 83.631 points and finished ninth in the all-around category, well within the top 24 cutoff for the medal round.

"Joanie Delgaco just made history. Again. Qualifying in the quarterfinals means she is among the top 24 in the world," Philippine Rowing Association president Paco Gregorio said in a Facebook post. "Joanie will try her best to reach the semifinals."

Gregorio expressed hope that corporate sponsors will take notice and believe Filipinos can excel in rowing.

Meanwhile, fellow rookie Olympian Samantha Catantan battled through knee pain and ended her stint with a quarterfinal loss in women's foil at Grand Palais.

She opened her bid with a 15-13 win over world No. 65 Mariana Pistoia of Brazil, but lost to world No. 2 Arianna Errigo of Italy, 12-15, in the round of 32.

The three-time Olympian Errigo was Tokyo 2021 team bronze medalist and London 2012 team champion and individual silver medalist. She also won two individual world championships (2013-2014).

"Thank you, Sam Catantan, for your incredible effort and dedication. Though the outcome wasn't what we hoped for, your hard work and spirit inspire us all. We're proud of you, Sam, and excited for what the future holds. Keep shining!" wrote the Philippine Olympic Committee on its Facebook page.

An anterior cruciate ligament injury on the left knee sidelined Catantan for most of 2023. She called for medical timeout during her opening match.

Catantan's former teammate Maxine Esteban, who now represents Ivory Coast after a fallout with the national fencing association, also bowed out in the Table of 32.

She drew an opening-round bye, then lost to Pauline Ranvier of France, 7-15. She never recovered from an early 4-13 deficit.

Women artistic gymnasts Aleah Finnegan, Levi Ruivivar and Emma Malabuyo will start off in the qualification subdivision 3 between 8:50 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (PH time) on Sunday, also at Bercy Arena.

On Monday at 3:20 a.m. (PH time), boxer Aira Villegas faces off with Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki in the women's 50kg round of 32 at North Paris Arena. (PNA)