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Watch Out: Here Are Our Pinoy Athletes Competing in the Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics 2020 or the 2020 Summer Olympics is finally happening this Jul. 23 to Aug. 8 and our very own athletes are gearing up for the competition. As of writing, 15 Pinoys are qualified for the quadrennial international multi-sport event and the number continues to rise. Philippine Sports Commissioner Ramon Fernandez says that we could be looking at sending 19 athletes to the Olympics, potentially breaking the record of 13 sent during the Rio 2016 Olympics. Meet our Filipino Olympians vying for gold at the Olympics and making us proud in international stages.

Article last updated: June 23, 2021

 

Pole Vaulting

Ernest John Obiena is the first Filipino to qualify for the upcoming Summer Olympics after clearing 5.81 meters at a 2019 tournament in Italy. There’s nowhere to go but up for this Olympian — literally. He has been breaking his own records since 2014. Obiena won gold during the 2016 Philippine National Games Final, the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships, and the 2019 Summer Universaide.

 


Gymnastics

Carlos Yulo has accomplished many firsts in his gymnastics career. In 2018, he was the first Filipino and the first male Southeast Asian gymnast to win a medal (bronze) at the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The following year he won gold, making him the first Filipino to snag first place at the same event. The gymnast didn’t stop there. During the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) he also won two gold medals and five silver medals. He was the second Filipino to secure his spot for the Tokyo Olympics.

 

Boxing

Eumir Marcial – 25-year-old Felix Eumir Marcial is a Zamboanga native who is the first Filipino boxer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Marcial recently earned a bronze medal at the 2021 Asian Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships last May 28. He is also the third Pinoy overall to qualify for the Olympics after EJ Obiena and Carlos Yulo.

Irish Magno – When Magno was 16 years old she was scouted by her coach while watching other boxers train at the town plaza in Janiuay, Iloilo. Her career only went up from there. Magno won her first gold medal at the 2012 Taipei Open and regularly represented the Philippines for SEA Games. She is the first Filipina boxer to qualify for the Summer Olympics.

Nesthy Petecio – This Filipina boxer is no stranger to gold medals. She snagged first place at the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and at the 2019 SEA Games. Qualifying for the Olympics and representing her country is a life-long dream, one she probably had since she started boxing at 7 years old.

Carlo Paalam – After Paalam joined the national team in 2013, he has since been competing at an international level. He has his fair share of medals, most notably the gold he won during the 2019 SEA Games. He qualified for the men’s flyweight class (52kg) for the upcoming Summer Olympics.

 

Weightlifting

Hidilyn Diaz – When Diaz won a silver medal during the Rio 2016 Olympics, she ended the Philippines’ 20-year Olympic medal drought. Her illustrious weightlifting career won her a bronze medal during the 2007 SEA Games. She also won gold at the 1st Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championship in 2015 and the Asian Weightlifting Championships. During the 2020 Weightlifting World Cup, Diaz bagged three gold medals.

Elreen Ando – Last June 12, Ando became the 11th Filipino Olympian. The 22-year-old Cebuana weightlifter has two silver medals and a bronze at the 2021 Asian Weightlifting Championships. She ranks 12th at the International Weightlifting Federation in the women’s 64kg division.

 

Golf

Juvic Pagunsan is currently ranked 5oth in the top 60 Olympic golf rankings which earned him a ticket to his maiden Olympics. Pagunasan is also the 13th Filipino to qualify for the quadrennial games. Golfers Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan are also expected to qualify for Tokyo.

 

Shooting

Jayson Valdez is the 12th Filipino Olympian to qualify for the games. He is the first Filipino air rifle shooter sent to the Olympics after Paul Bryan Rosario participated as a wild card entry to the 2012 London Olympics. Valdez will be competing in the men’s 10m air rifle event.

 

Rowing

Cris Nievarez used to compete in the 400-m sprint before he was scouted by former rowing bet Justine Viñas who invited him to try for the national rowing team. He took home a gold medal during the 2019 SEA Games. The 21-year-old is the first rower in the Olympics since Benjamin Tolentino Jr. competed in the 2000 Sydney Games.

 

Skateboard

Margielyn Didal is the 22-year-old reigning Asian Games and SEA Games skateboarding champ. During the qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, she finished top 17 in world rankings. Didal is a street skateboarder who hails from Cebu. She also won gold during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

 

Taekwondo

Kurt Barbosa was hailed as the Rookie Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player during the UAAP Season 81 in 2018. The following year, he became part of the national team and won gold at the 2019 SEA Games. Barbosa claimed his Olympic spot after winning the 2021 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament.

 

Track and Field

Kristina Knott is the 15th Filipino to secure her spot in the Tokyo Olympics via a universality place. She holds two gold medals from the 2019 SEA Games for the 200-meter run. Her other impressive accomplishments include holding the Southeast Asian record of 23.01 seconds for the 200-meter run. Knott tested positive for COVID-19 mere hours after her Olympic announcement. The asymptomatic Filipina-American just has to complete quarantine measures before flying to Tokyo.

 

Judo

Kiyomi Watanabe is the first Filipina Olympian for Judo. She earned her slot at the Olympics through a continental quota in the women’s -63kg division. She ranked 41 in her weight class with 1,506 points. Watanabe previously won gold at the 2019 SEA Games and silver at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.

 

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Kyzia spends most of her time capturing the world around her through photos, paragraphs, and playlists. She is constantly on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and a great paperback thriller to pair with it.

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