Carlos Yulo, Joanie Delgaco, and Aira Villegas’ impressive Olympic journeys are just beginning.
The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are well under way. Seven of our athletes have already braved the global stage, with three moving on to the next round of their competition.
Here’s a recap of our Filipino athletes’ games so far.
READ ALSO: National Pride: Get To Know The Filipino Athletes Headed To The Paris Olympics
Joanie Delgaco’s Improved Technique
Joanie Delgaco was the first to compete this year, as the Philippines’ first female rower in the Olympics. The women’s single sculls heats took place on July 27, where Delgaco came out in fourth place.
This allowed the athlete to move on to the repechages, where the best-placed of those who failed to win heats compete for a place in the final. Delgaco placed first in her group, securing a spot in the quarterfinals.
According to Delgaco, she recalibrated her strategy for this round, reserving her energy for the final stretch. She expressed her gratitude to her supporters but also added that sponsorships would greatly benefit our Filipino Olympians.
The women’s single sculls quarterfinals will take place on July 30, 3:30 p.m. in Filipino time.
Carlos Yulo Makes a Strong Entrance
Carlos Yulo took on the artistic gymnastics qualification round later that day. The gymnast is competing in all-around, meaning he is participating in all apparatuses.
The top 24 in all-around will move on to the finals, while only the top eight in each apparatus will qualify for that apparatus’ final.
Yulo placed second in the floor exercise, impressing the judges and spectators with his skill and clean execution. He also qualified for the vault finals, placing sixth overall.
The gymnast secured ninth place in the all-around competition with a total score of 83.631, meaning he will also move on to the finals.
Yulo told ABS-CBN News that he was feeling very nervous at first, but that it died down after he successfully pulled off his routine in the floor exercise. He also lowered his difficulty a little, so he could execute it perfectly and secure a spot in the finals.
The men’s all-around final takes place on July 31, 11:30 p.m. (PHT). Meanwhile, the floor exercise final is scheduled on August 3, 9:30 p.m. and the men’s vault final is on August 4, 10:24 p.m.
Aira Villegas’ Unanimous Win
Aira Villegas’ boxing match finished earlier this morning, on July 9. She was up against Yasmine Mouttaki from Morocco in the women’s 50kg preliminaries (round of 32). Villegas was the first of our five Filipino boxers to compete in the Paris Olympics.
Starting the campaign strong, Villegas scored a unanimous decision, with five judges declaring her the winner in her first match.
Villegas expressed her happiness and sense of fulfillment after the game, thanking the Filipinos who stayed up to watch her. She’ll be heading back to training and studying her next opponent before the round of 16.
Her next match will take place on August 2 at 2 a.m. She will be facing Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria, who she said she was already able to spar with.
Valiant Efforts
Fencer Samantha Catantan and our three female gymnasts Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Ruivivar have also faced their respective competitions.
Catantan first won against Mariana Pistoia of Brazil in the women’s foil individual table of 64. The Filipino fencer scored the winning 15th point in round two out of three, ending the match early.
About an hour later, she put up a valiant fight against top seed Arianna Errigo from Italy. Errigo is currently ranked no. 2 in the world and a multiple Olympic medalist.
Despite her ranking of no. 266 in the world, Catantan kept up with Errigo, with an injured knee at that. Catantan lost with only a three point deficit, with Errigo ending the match at 15-12.
In artistic gymnastics, Finnegan, Malabuyo, and Ruivivar competed individually under the same subdivision, with New Zealand’s Georgia-Rose Brown joining them for the qualification round.
Like Yulo, the three Filipina gymnasts competed in all-around, placing 40th (Ruivivar), 41st (Malabuyo), and 47th (Finnegan).
While their respective Olympic journeys have come to a close for now, these four athletes have already made their country proud by giving their all.
Banner image via Instagram @adidasph, @c_edrielzxs, and @olympic.ph.
