Tag: number

Track stars could up number of PH bets in Paris to 23

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President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. grants a photo opportunity with officials and Philippine Olympians and Philippine Paralympians as they were sent off for Paris Olympics. –HANDOUT PHOTO

The final count of Philippine bets in the Paris Olympics could swell to 23 as three more athletics aces are just awaiting confirmation of inclusion on July 7.

Hurdlers John Cabang and Lauren Hoffman are within reach of Olympic berths after comfortably staying inside the qualification circle in their respective events with sprinter Kristina Knott clinging onto the last available spot in the women’s 200 meters that could propel her to a second straight Olympics appearance.

When they all get in, Team Philippines will bring at least 23 athletes from nine sports in the coming global sports spectacle set from July 26 to August 11 in the world’s fashion capital.

Cabang, a full-blooded Filipino based in Spain, is tucked safely at No. 29 out of 40 qualifiers at the end of the men’s 110m hurdles race for Olympic rankings, capping his qualification journey with a victory in the Spanish Club Championships last month.

He nearly reset his own Philippine record of 13.37 seconds with a 13.38 performance during the meet.

The Filipino-American Hoffman is ranked 36th, well inside the top 40 Olympic qualifiers in the women’s 400m hurdles.

Hoffman, the national standard-bearer in her event at 55.72 seconds, wrapped up the quest for Paris by placing third in the Edmonton Athletics Invitational in Canada on June 13.

‘[N]o easy feat’

“The list of those who made it to Paris will be released a week later. Our athletes have done their best and it was no easy feat,’’ said Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Terry Capistrano.

Bidding for another trip to the Games, Knott is at No. 48, which is the number of Olympic berths to be given away in the women’s 200m.

Out of qualification range after Sunday’s cutoff are former Asian champion and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian Eric Cray (No. 47 out of 40 in the men’s 400m hurdles), Asian champion Robyn Brown (No. 47 out of 40 in the women’s 400m hurdles) and long jumper Janry Ubas (No. 44 out of 32 qualifiers).

With 23 possible Filipino Olympians in Paris, the number eclipsed the PH athlete delegation of 20 in Tokyo 2020 when weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz captured the first gold medal for the nation. INQ



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PH athletics with record number of bets in Paris Olympics

On: By: admin


French Gendarmes walk past a banner for the forthcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games outside The National Assembly – Assemblee nationale in Paris on May 5, 2024. AFP

With three more track stars sure to qualify, Philippine athletics has written a piece of history even before the Paris Games get off the ground.

Hurdlers John Cabang Tolentino and Lauren Hoffman are just counting the days before their acceptance notice for the Games arrives along with sprinter Kristina Knott with less than two weeks before the qualification ends as they join pole vault ace EJ Obiena in the world’s fashion capital.

Robyn Brown, the women’s 400-meter hurdles Asian champion, could even bring the qualifiers of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) to five.

“They still have to compete in a tournament or two before the qualification window closes. The list of those who made it to Paris will be released a week later,’’ Patafa President Terry Capistrano told the Inquirer.

Flagbearers

Meanwhile, boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio will carry the Philippine flag in the parade of nations in the opening ceremony.

Paalam and Petecio, who both secured silver medals in the previous Olympics in Tokyo, were designated flagbearers by the Philippine Olympic Committee for the opening rites set July 26.

Tolentino, the Spain-based Filipino record holder in the men’s 110-m hurdles, is ranked 28th out of 40 qualifiers in his event with one more race to go at the Meeting Madrid in Spain on June 21 prior to the June 30 deadline set by World Athletics.

Hoffman, sitting at 34th with 40 Olympic slots in the women’s 400-m hurdles, will wrap up her slot in the prestigious Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial in Poznan, Poland, on June 23.

Sending four to five Filipino athletes from track and field is an unparalleled feat no Philippine Olympic delegation has done in a century of participation in the global sports showcase.

So far, the highest number of track and field athletes to the Olympics was three—hurdler Eric Cray, marathoner Mary Joy Tabal and long jumper Marestella Torres—during the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. INQ



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