Category: Olympics

Aug 26, 2024

Last Saturday, I was asked by CCSC Commissioner and UC athletic director Jessica Jawad Honoridez to give a talk during the opening of the 32nd Erne Jawad Memorial Table Tennis Cup at the Cebu Coliseum. Here’s my message:

Maayong buntag! Comm. Jessica Honoridez, congratulations for organizing the country’s longest-running table tennis event and one of the biggest, with over 1,000 participants. Jessica and I were together at the Paris Olympics.

At the Olympics, I had tickets to watch the semifinals of Table Tennis. But I had to give them up because it was at the same time as the competition of Elreen Ando. At the weightlifting competition, Jessica and I both watched Elreen Ando place sixth and get a Philippine record.

At the Paris Olympics, one of the most popular athletes among the 10,000 Olympians was Lebrun. Now, when I say “LeBron,” I know everyone will think of the NBA superstar. But to you, table tennis fans, you know that I’m not talking about LeBron James but about Felix Lebrun. He ended up winning two bronze medals for France, one in individual and one with his brother Alexis in the team event. Felix is only 17 years old — one of the youngest medalists in the Paris Olympics. Felix was a hero in France.

Here among you, I see many young athletes. Our hope is that, one day, some of you will represent the Philippines in the Olympics. We have the LA Olympics in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032. You can be the Felix Lebrun of the Philippines.

Here’s my message to everyone this morning: Sometimes you Win, Sometimes you Learn.

This is a fundamental truth in sports: there will be very few winners and many, many losers. It doesn’t matter what event. Jawad Cup. Palaro. Batang Pinoy. Olympics.

This is a fact of life and of sports: there will be more losers than winners. In the Jawad Cup, you have 13 categories. This means that there will only be 13 champions. There will be hundreds who will not win and climb the podium.

Of course we want to win: Wins are exciting. We are happy. We pump our fist. Our friends and family congratulate us. They validate our dedication and hard work. They give us a sense of accomplishment. But let’s also remember, it’s not just about winning.

Losses can be tough to accept. They can shake our confidence. After a loss, we question our abilities. But, it’s in these moments that we have the greatest opportunity to learn and grow. Losses can teach us valuable lessons about perseverance and resilience.

The athlete’s journey is not a straight line. It’s a winding path filled with ups and downs. What’s important is to embrace both the wins and the losses as stepping stones on our journey. Every challenge and setback is an opportunity to grow and to become a better table tennis player. Because it’s not just about winning; it’s about the continuous cycle of learning and improving.

To all the participants of the 32nd Jawad Cup, congratulations. And never forget: Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.

August 9, 2024

PARIS – The Eiffel Tower is the world’s most-visited paid monument. Here at the Olympics, it has transformed into a breathtaking backdrop for an unforgettable sight: Beach Volleyball. Seven million people visit the site each year, but last Monday, for 12,860 fans that included our JJJ family, it became the stage for an Olympic spectacle.

Nicknamed “La Dame de Fer” (French for “Iron Lady”), the Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair. Three hundred million people have trekked to the landmark since it opened 135 years ago. But last week, it played host to a different kind of celebration — the 2024 Olympics.

Imagine the sight: the Boracay-like white sand court, the world’s top athletes soaring and spiking, and towering above it all, the 330-meter-tall golden iron frame shimmering in the sunset. It’s a postcard-perfect image come to life here in France’s capital.

Jasmin, Jana and I watched two games last Monday. The first, at 9 p.m., was the women’s Round of 16 contest between Brazil’s top-ranked pair, Ana Patricia Ramos and Duda Lisboa, and Japan’s Hasegawa Akiko and Miki Ishii. The Brazilians, living up to their world No. 1 ranking and 2022 world champion titles, dominated and won,  21-15, 21-16.

The energy then shifted to the men, where Qatar’s Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse (the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalists), battled Esteban and Marco Grimalt, cousins from Chile. The Qatari duo proved too strong, 21-14 and 21-13.

It was a beauty to see the women and men showcase distinct differences in beach volleyball. The much-taller men rely on raw power for serves, spikes, and “monster-blocks;” the women, revealing a different playing style, employ more finesse, shot placement, precision and the occasional “pancake.”

INCREDIBLE SIGHT. The sun sets here around 9:30 p.m. and, as it descended, it glistened even more gorgeously, casting a warm glow over the stadium (temporarily built for the Olympics). The atmosphere rocked with excitement as the DJ host prompted the crowd to turn on their phone flashlights.

Imagine the spectacle — 12,000 spectators creating a sea of glimmering lights as the pulsating rhythm of electronic dance music fills the air. Everyone’s dancing as the stadium transforms into the hottest club in Paris.

By 10 p.m., the Eiffel Tower’s lights themselves flickered to life for five full minutes. It added another layer of grandeur to the already awe-inspiring scene. Every dig, block and spike resonated with the majesty of France’s iconic landmark.

Beach Volleyball isn’t just about volleyball on the beach; here in the Olympics, it was about creating a lasting legacy. The Eiffel Tower Stadium will now serve as a blueprint for hosting future sporting events in unique locations, breathing life into iconic landmarks.

I’ve had the privilege of attending numerous sporting events. But the sight of the tower bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, the roar of the crowd, and the world’s best volleyball pairings diving on the white sand — none will compare with the memory of La Tour Eiffel.

August 6, 2024

The weather here has been nearly perfect: 18C at night and 28C at its hottest (surprisingly, at 6 p.m.). The sun rises at 6:30 a.m. and doesn’t set until 9:22 p.m. Yes, that’s 15 hours of daylight. The only “anomaly” this summer season happened during the rainy Opening Ceremony last July 26. Two days prior (and two days after), it has been mostly sunny.

2. We experienced an attempted pickpocket. It happened inside the Metro when two ladies surrounded Jana just as we entered. One lady’s hand was hidden behind a big empty bag as she pressed against our daughter. A tall man stood behind them. The other lady asked Jana in English (very unusual) what station this was headed to. We noticed something was wrong, stayed put and guarded our belongings. As we reached the next stop, the four of them (their “team” included another lady) jumped out of our carriage — and hopped on to the same train just a few meters right behind!

3. The bars and coffee shops here are filled. Many have large TV sets showing (exclusively) French athletes. The sport that we’ve noticed Parisians love watching the most: judo and fencing. And, of course, they love Leon Marchand. When he won gold in the 200m IM, we saw them running around hoisting the flag. Many painted their cheeks with their flag’s red-white-and-blue colors.

4. Best spot: just as it gets dark at 10 p.m., standing at the Arc de Triomphe and watching the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic cauldron balloon.

5. Kindness: this is not our first trip here and we’ve all known about their occasional rudeness. But, so far, everyone has been courteous. In Metro stations, volunteers guide you. At the playing venues, they help you; in the souvenir stores, restaurants, Carrefour shops, they smile. The Olympics has brought out the best in the French. Merci!

6. Food: after a week of eating baguette, frites (obviously, it’s not called “French fries” here), croissants and (French) onion soup, we finally succumbed to my sister-in-law Mitzi’s tactic: eat Chinese food with plenty of rice.

7. Police and military officers are visible. The policemen are usually three officers in one group. The French military wear light-brown fatigues and carry high-powered firearms. They are 6 or 7 in a formation. They parade the streets as sirens are overheard. In major streets, it’s not surprising to see 10 police cars lined up.

8. Walk, walk, walk. We average 10K per day.

9. Water is potable. And they’ve installed drinking fountains in many public areas. The public “toilettes” (“sanisettes”) are innumerable and are scattered in the major thoroughfares — all for free.

10. The Paris Metro system is one of the world’s best. We even got to meet an Olympian from Mexico who, just hours earlier, competed in the 20km Race Walk. Exclusive during the Games, Paris has the Navigo pass for tourists: 10 Euro for unlimited rides all-day inside Zones 1 to 5, which includes the airport and Versailles.

11. Music is played everywhere, particularly inside the Olympic venues where a DJ invites the crowd to sing and dance along. Our favorite: serenaded by the Olympic volunteers on Paris’ beloved street, the song, “Les Champs-Elysees.”

July 26, 2024

PARIS — Bonjour! July 27, 1924. This was the date (100 years ago tomorrow) when the Closing Ceremony of the last Paris Olympics was held. Today, July 26, 2024, it’s the Opening Ceremony. Befitting an event that’s a century in the making, it will be the first Olympics not to be held inside the stadium — but along the River Seine.

Imagine 300,000 spectators — including my fellow Cebuano tennis player, Malone Aradillos, who’ll be attending the Opening with his family — watching a never-before-seen spectacle.

My wife Jasmin, daughter Jana and I arrived in “The City of Light” last Wednesday. We were greeted by large billboards emblazoned with “Paris 2024” logos. The five Olympic rings hung atop the Terminal 1 building. At the Charles de Gaulle airport, we stood beside Olympians from Austria.

SECURITY. Because we could not secure Opening Ceremony tickets (or crazy enough to pay 1,000 Euro each), I did the next best thing: I planned to run along the Seine the day before the Opening.

Yesterday at 6 a.m., I did my early morning workout by strolling towards Notre Dame. I imagined the thousands of Olympians parading and riding their boats along the Seine.

But, no, security here is incredibly strict. Upon arrival at CDG airport, you’re met with dozens of armed security personnel. We saw many in military fatigues carrying high-powered firearms as we walked near Centre Pompidou and headed towards the Louvre (which we couldn’t get to). The security force here is staggering: 45,000 policemen, 20,000 private security guards and a 10,000-strong detachment of soldiers — reportedly the largest military gathering in Paris since World War II.

When I tried to go near the River Seine, I could not. There are barriers installed and a perimenter blockade restricting entry. Paris developed SILT (translated into Strengthening Internal Security and the Fight Against Terrorism) that divide areas into zones (red, gray, etc), restricting entry before the Opening Ceremony unless you have a Pass Jeux.

DANCESPORT. If Cebu City became the first Palaro city in 64 editions to host Dancesport, there is also one sport that Paris 2024 will unveil: Breakdancing. Yes, for those who grew up in the 1970s and 80s, this was our “sport.” Dancing to the tune of my favorite breakdance song, “Rockit” by Herbie Hancock, we would strut, drop to the ground, balance, swirl, kick or do a headstand. The “Breaking” Olympic competition will have two events, 16 “B-Boys” and 16 “B-Girls,” and will be one of 32 sports to be played in Paris with a total of 329 medal events. “Breakdance” will join the new sports introduced in Tokyo that include sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding, the sport of our own, Margielyn Didal.

GENDER EQUALITY. Another first in Olympic history: there will be the same number of women and men competing in Paris. There are 206 countries that will be represented and an estimated 10,500 athletes. This number will be equally divided: 5,250 women and 5,250 men. Talk about fair play. Bien joué, Paris!

Beijing hosts a historic Olympic games. It will be the third consecutive Olympics played in East Asia (in 2018, it was the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea; last year, the Tokyo Games).

For 16 days starting last Friday and ending this Feb. 20, Beijing will host its first-ever Winter Olympics. Back in August 2008 — an event that my wife Jasmin and I witnessed in person for 10 days — the same city of Beijing hosted the Olympics. 

Beijing becomes the only city in history to host both the Summer and Winter Games.

I checked the temperature in Beijing yesterday and it stood at 0 Celsius. It dips to -7C at night and “heats up” to 4C during midday. (During summer, it’s a hot 30C.)

The Beijing National Stadium was the venue for the Opening Ceremony two nights ago — the same venue China used in 2008. Jasmin and I had a chance to watch the athletics competition 12 years ago (when it was called “Bird’s Nest”) and the 80,000-seater complex is both stunning and humongous. 

The Winter Olympics is much smaller than the Summer Games. In Tokyo last year, 206 nations and 11,656 athletes competed in 339 events. This week in Beijing, the Winter Games will involve only 91 nations and 2,875 athletes in 109 events.

Among the popular sports include Ice hockey, Figure skating, Ski jumping, Alping skiing, snowboarding and Cross-country skiing. Another event is Bobsleigh. If you watched the sports comedy film, “Cool Runnings,” a story of the Jamaican team joining the 1988 Winter Olympics, you’ll smile and understand Bobsleigh (or bobsled).

With the spectators, it appears that as many as 150,000 locals will be allowed to watch in a tightly-controlled environment involving strict Covid-19 tests and limited seating. Not all venues will have spectators.

With the athletes and coaches, similar to Tokyo, Beijing is implementing a closed loop system with daily testing.

For the Philippines, our choice of flag bearer was an easy choice (usually, the most accomplished athlete gets to carry the flag). It’s Asa Miller — because he’s the only representative of Team PHI. 

In last Friday’s Opening, he was our lone athlete (carrying the flag) and was followed by four other officials, including POC President Bambol Tolentino. (It’s sad to note that figure skater Michael Martinez, the two-time Olympian, is recovering from injuries and won’t be competing.)

Asa Miller, only 21, will be competing in the Men’s slalom and Giant slalom events. 

This is not Miller’s first trip to the capital city of China. In 2014, the then-14-year-old Miller was an exchange student.

“It feels great that it’s real now,” said Miller. “And it feels great to be in China again – the Olympic spirit and the culture all over the place, as well as the other athletes.. They’re very fun and motivating.”

To watch Asa Miller, whose event is on Feb. 13, and to witness the other “cool” athletes, coverage in the Phils. is available via Cignal TV (channels 198 and 298).

It’s been 97 years since our first Olympic appearance in Paris. In total, we have joined 22 Olympic Games. The only times we skipped were in 1940 (World War II) and 1980 when we boycotted the Moscow Olympics.

In our 97 years of participation and 22 appearances, we have sent a total of 517 Filipino Olympians. Out of that, we have medaled 14 times — that’s eight bronze, five silver and one golden Gold.

Our 14 medals were won by 12 athletes. Teofilo Yldefonso (200-meter breaststroke) snapped our first hardware in 1928 in Amsterdam and he won bronze again four years later in Los Angeles. Our heroic Hidilyn Diaz, of course, won silver in Rio and gold two weeks ago.

Of our 14 Olympic medals, eight were won in boxing, and two each in athletics, swimming and weightlifting.

Weightlifting was one of the attractions in the 1896 Athens Olympics. Only 43 events in nine sports were played in the first Olympics and this included the sport of Ms. Diaz.

The first weightlifting event? One hand lift. They used dumbbells and the man (no women joined the 1896 Olympics) who could lift the heaviest dumbbell won. If they tied, the judges would pick the man with the best style and adjudge him the winner. 

Fast forward 115 years later, the Tokyo Olympics featured seven bodyweight categories each for the men and women. What’s the goal of this sport? As stated in the Olympics website, “The aim of weightlifting is simple: to lift more than anyone else. The result is pure sporting theatre and a real spectator favourite.”

Weightlifting might appear to be purely a physical sport but it’s just as mental. Lifing more than double your body weight requires explosive strength, focus, technique and unreal mental fortitude.

Hidilyn Diaz weighs 54.90 kgs. (121 lbs.). Her gold-winning lift in the clean and jerk event was 127 kgs. (280 lbs.). This means that she carried 2.31 times her bodyweight. Think about that for a second. Multiply your weight by 2.3 and carry that weight. I doubt it if we’ll be able to lift it a few inches off the floor.

Among the men, the greatest is Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia. Two weeks ago, I watched him (via Cignal cable) lift world records in the snatch (223kg.) and clean and jerk (265kg.) for a total 488 kgs. He won the Olympic gold and set the world record. He’s planning to become the first human being to lift a combined total of 500 kgs. (1,102 lbs.).

This is the good news. The sad news? There’s a chance weightlifting will be stricken off from the 2024 Paris Olympics. Corruption and doping issues are prevalent and these have tainted the sport. Some countries have incurred violations and been given outright bans. No less than the IOC has issued warnings to the International Weightlifting Fedeferation (IWF). Their mandate: Clean up or good bye, clean and jerk.

Yesterday, I messaged Monico Puentevella, our nation’s weightlifting chieftain. He’s hopeful the sport will continue, mentioning our Cebuana weightlifter (who placed 7th in Tokyo): “Glad (Elreen) Aldo will be in Paris 2024, too. She’ll be ready for a medal then.”

The Summer Olympics that started on July 23 will end today. The Closing Ceremonies will commence at 8 p.m. (Tokyo time) or 7 p.m., Philippine time. Our silver medalist Nesthy Petecio is expected to carry the Philippine flag tonight as we celebrate our most successful Olympics ever. 

Team PHI first joined the quadrennial meet in 1924 in Paris. (Coincidentally, the 2024 Olympics — our 100th anniversary — will also be held in Paris.)

There’s a saying that goes, “Ang una ra’y lisod.” (Only the first is most difficult.)

I believe this holds true for Philippine sports. After a 97-year-long wait before Hidilyn Diaz won our first Olympic gold medal last week, it’s possible that we’ll achieve another golden moment three years from now in the capital of France.

Petecio has gained extra Olympic experience in Tokyo. Carlo Paalam is only 23 and will be in his prime in 36 months. Same with Eumir Marcial, only 25 years of age.

Margielyn Didal is our Cebuana hero. In a field of 20 skateboarders, she placed a highly respectable 7th place. Didal, the Asian Games gold medalist, did better than the world’s No. 1 street skater, Pamela Rosa, in the Olympics. Only 22, she’ll inspire many in the Philippines to try skateboarding. She’ll also be aiming to compete and medal in Paris 2024.

Hidilyn Francisco Diaz is the gallant and gritty champion of the world. The tens of millions of pesos that she’s receiving — plus the cars, Manulife insurance, houses, PAL free flights, free food, etc. — will only motivate so many of our Filipino youth to take up sports and “Be like Hidilyn.”

Thanks to Hidilyn and Nesthy and Margielyn, the Tokyo Olympics is also a celebration and triumph of the women. 

The same is true for the entire Olympic movement in Tokyo. Of the almost 11,000 athletes, nearly 49 percent are women. This is up from 45.6% in Rio and 44.2% in London. This focus on “gender equality” is good. 

We only need to remember the lone athlete who lit the Olympic flame during the Opening last July 23. It was Naomi Osaka.

Mixed-gender events — a total of 18 — were included in the Olympics. These included archery, athletics, badminton, equestrian, judo, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis and triathlon.

Four sports federations (for the first time) have moved to gender-balanced events. These include canoe, rowing, shooting and weightlifting. 

One example of mixed teams is triathlon. Each squad is composed of two women and two men. Each triathlete has to swim for 300 meters, pedal for 6.8K and run a 2K before tapping the hand of a teammate for him/her to continue.

“The mixed events are truly important because they really embody the equality of male and female athletes on the field of play,” said IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell. “There is nothing more equal than a male and female competing as one team on the same field of play towards the same sports performance.”

The Tokyo Games is a winner — the most gender-balanced Olympics ever. To our Philippines, this is affirmed by the golden Ms. Hidilyn Diaz.

The 31st edition of the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) will unfold in Hanoi, Vietnam this Nov. 21 to Dec. 2. 

Back in 2019, our Philippines hosted 5,600 athletes and we captured the overall title in the biennial event that featured 56 sports and 530 events. 

When the Hanoi SEA Games unfolds six months from now, an important ruling has been announced: No vaccine, no play. 

“Their policy (no vaccine, no participation) is for the good of everyone,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Bambol Tolentino. 

This ruling involves all SEAG athletes including the 626 Pinoy athletes that will take the 3-hour, 35-min. flight from Manila to Hanoi.

“Before we fly to Vietnam,” said Tolentino, “everyone should be vaccinated.”

Is this “no vaccine, no play” directive a good move? Absolutely.

Vietnam posts one of the lowest recorded Covid-19 cases in Asia. Since the pandemic started, our neighbor has recorded only 4,720 total cases and 37 deaths. Incredible! This, for a sizable country of 97 million people. How did Vietnam do it? Ha-ha. That’s another non-sports-page article.

But the last thing Vietnam wants is to be deluded with Covid-19 cases when tens of thousands of SEAG participants land at the Noi Bai Airport.

How about the Tokyo Olympics — just 61 days away — slated this July 23 to August 8? 

No such ruling. This, I don’t understand. There will be more than 80,000 foreign athletes, coaches and officials who will invade Japan. 

Can you imagine an outbreak in the Athlete’s Village where 11,000 athletes are housed in close quarters? One super-spreader can infect dozens of super-athletes and cause a super-storm halting the Olympics.

Plus, many sports entail close, physical contact. Boxing. Wrestling. Basketball. 

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach reiterated this “no need to vaccinate” order last March, saying: “The athletes and the national Olympic committees should follow their national regulations on vaccination. This is a clear government responsibility and in this, we will not interfere.”

We will not interfere. I don’t understand.

Well, of course, I do. The issue of vaccination is a complicated matter. We cannot force someone to be vaccinated against his/her free will.

A player like Novak Djokovic, for example, who has hinted of his objection to being inoculated, can the tennis world No. 1 be forced to get vaccinated prior to his joining the Olympics?

This is a thorny issue. And this will subject the IOC to hundreds of complaints and possible legal actions.

Instead, the Olympics playbook stipulates very soft guidelines. Among the gentle rules include daily testing and barring athletes from using public transportation and disallowing them from dining at local restaurants or visiting shops.

I know this issue is complex but for the safety of all — including the Japanese people, 80% of whom are reluctant for the Games to continue — I wished they’d enforce the “no vaccine, no play” rule.

If the SEAG can do it, why can’t the Olympics?