These Olympic rookies aren’t just happy to participate. They’re heading to Paris ready to make names for themselves.
For an athlete, nothing can quite compare to representing one’s country at the Olympics. This is why Filipina golfer Bianca Pagdanganan manifested her Olympic debut in Tokyo; it’s why Nesthy Petecio is welcoming pressure as she aims for a second Olympic medal; it’s why the Philippines’ first gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz had the Olympic rings tattooed on her arm.
Simply put, it is every athlete’s dream to fight for their flag at the Olympics.
This year, these Filipina athletes are making that dream come true for the first time. But they aren’t just happy to be there — these names will be fighting to make a solid impression, even as Olympic rookies.
Vanessa Sarno
Hidilyn Diaz may have missed out on a ticket to the Paris Olympics, but the Philippines’ future at Olympic weightlifting is in strong hands with Vanessa Sarno — the young Filipino whom many regard as Hidilyn’s successor.
Sarno has been a top weightlifter ever since her junior days. Representing the Philippines, she won two gold medals and a silver medal in the 2019 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships, and she also went on an impressive haul in the 2020 IWF Online World Youth Weightlifting Championship, winning three gold medals in her division.
From there, she has gone on to level up to the senior level with the same caliber. At just 20 years old, she has already become a silver and gold medalist at the Asian Games and is a two-time Southeast Asian gold medalist as well.
With all her success at such a young age, Sarno will be able to showcase what she is made of at the highest level: the Olympics. As she makes her Olympic debut in Paris later this month, not only will she be competing to prove herself, but she will also be fighting to continue the legacy that Hidilyn has started.
Dottie Ardina
Dottie Ardina will be heading to Paris with a vengeance. While this year will officially mark her Olympic debut, this year isn’t the first time she has qualified. In fact, she qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics but ultimately decided to miss out on the opportunity due to the Zika virus threat at the time.
Eight years later, she will finally get to finish what she started.
Ardina is one of the Philippines’ top golfers and has been making waves for some time now. At the young age of 12, she became the youngest player to compete in the World Amateur Team Championships, and as a professional, she competed in some of the top tours in the world, including the LPGA Tour in 2014.
Currently competing in the Epson Tour, Ardina gained enough points to rank no. 55 in the International Golf Federation ranking, which granted her a spot in the Paris Olympics.
Aira Villegas
The Philippines may as well consider boxing as one of the country’s national sports, as it has so often produced the most success, especially on the Olympic stage. In the last Summer Games alone, three out of the four boxers who traveled to Tokyo earned medals. And this year, Aira Villegas is hoping to get a taste of some of that sweet success.
Villegas booked a ticket to the Paris Olympics after an impressive 5-0 win in the quarterfinals of the World Qualification Tournament in March this year, giving way for her Olympic debut. This, as she has expressed, is a dream come true for her — a dream that she shared with her older brother.
Aira’s older brother, Rominick, was also a die-hard boxer who dreamed of competing for the national team. He started boxing at a young age and even became one of the top boxers in their province. Watching him succeed, Aira took after him and took up the sport as well, and dreamed big just like her brother.
Unfortunately, however, Rominick was forced to quit the sport due to a hand injury.
Now, Aira credits this major achievement of qualifying for the Olympics to the path that her brother paved for her. Inspired by Rominick, Aira is aiming too high and hoping to make a big impact in her first go in the Olympic ring.
Levi Jung-Ruivivar
Filipina gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar made quite a splash in this year’s FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup. After winning a silver medal for the uneven bars in Doha, she still needed a perfect 30 points if she wanted to qualify for the Paris Olympics. And so, she and her coach decided to go big or go home by performing her “harder routine.”
It was a risk that paid off. After a stellar performance, she earned the points she needed and booked her ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This was something that was truly special for Levi. Not only does this mark her debut in the Olympics, but this also came exactly a year after she underwent major surgery for her foot, which initially left her unsure if she could reach a highly competitive level ever again.
Well, as it turns out, she definitely can. All of this took place before Levi even turned 18 years old. This makes her the youngest athlete in the Philippines’ delegation.
She may be young, her performances will definitely be among the Olympic debuts to watch out for this year.
Joanie Delgaco
It’s one thing to qualify for the Olympics, but it’s another to make history. This year, Joanie Delgaco is doing both.
The Filipina rower finished fourth in her event at the World Rowing Asian and Oceanian Qualification Regatta last April, and with this, she earned a spot in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. Not only does this mark her debut at the Games, but she also became the first Filipina rower to ever qualify.
Her qualification to the Paris Olympics is another bright reminder of this vibrant era of Philippine sports. Prior to Tokyo 2020, the Philippines had last participated in rowing 20 years prior, but a qualification by Cris Nievarez ended that long wait.
Now, Joanie is making it back-to-back Olympic appearances for Philippine rowing, and she will surely be aiming to prove her place among the top athletes at the event.
Samantha Catantan
Barcelona 1992 was a memorable year for the Olympics for a number of reasons, one of which is the fact that it was the last time the Philippines had a representative for fencing. Back then, it was Walter Torres who fought for the flag. Now, 32 years later, it will be 22-year-old Samantha Catantan.
The wait has been long, especially for the Philippine fencing community. But for Samantha, the Olympics seemed almost impossible as she faced an injury during the Olympic Qualifiers earlier this year.
Competing in the final round of the Qualifiers, her score tied with her opponent’s, the youngster hurt her knee after going for a lunge — the same knee she had injured before. She could have tapped out. But, determined to make a mark, she pushed through and scored the final point. With this, she booked a trip to the Paris Olympics and made history for the Philippines as the first fencer in 32 years to do so.
Now, as the first fencer in a long time to be competing at the highest level, she will not be taking this for granted. And if her past performances have been any indication, she won’t go down without a fight.
Banner images from Stanford Gymnastics, Sam Catantan, Joanie Delgaco, and Vanessa Sarno on Instagram.
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