Can the Philippines top their medal haul from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? The country’s hopes in doing so lie in the hands of these athletes who have qualified for Paris 2024.
Most, if not all athletes dream of representing their country at least once in their careers. After all, what else could bring as much pride as uplifting an entire nation through sport? If it’s hard to imagine, just look at how countries celebrate when their national athletes win a World Cup trophy. But as far as international competitions go, it does not get much bigger than the Olympics. However, as the Olympics is only held once every four years, an athlete only gets so many chances to qualify for a coveted slot. The chances of winning a medal are even slimmer.
Tokyo 2020 marked a historic tournament for the Philippines, as Hidilyn Diaz won the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal, and as the nation recorded their highest medal tally in Olympic history. And with the Philippine sports scene continuing to get even brighter, Filipinos have high hopes as we countdown to Paris 2024.
Currently, these hopes lie in the following Filipino athletes who have qualified for the 2024 Olympics.
EJ Obiena (Athletics)
EJ Obiena became the first Filipino athlete to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics when he cleared the qualifying benchmark of 5.82 meters in the Stockholm Diamond League-Bauhaus Galan back in July.
In the previous Tokyo Olympics, the Filipino concluded his campaign in the men’s pole vault event in 11th place, while Armand Duplantis from Sweden secured the gold medal. However, now with more years of experience in the bag and as World No. 2 in the men’s pole vault rankings, Obiena feels that this time around, he can beat Duplantis in the coming Summer Games.
Carlos Yulo (Gymnastics)
Carlos Yulo is headed for his second Olympic appearance at only 23 years old as of writing. He qualified for a spot in Paris 2024 in October this year as he was recognized as the highest-ranked eligible athlete in the floor exercise of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
In his last Olympics appearance in Tokyo, the Filipino gymnastics sensation’s goal was to become the first athlete from the Philippines to win a gold medal for artistic gymnastics. However, he was unable to fulfill this goal as he missed out on the medal round of his event. But now, he will get a second chance at achieving this dream as he makes his way as one of the Filipino athletes headed for the Paris Olympics.
Aleah Finnegan (Gymnastics)
Aleah Finnegan is already making history for the Philippines and for herself having simply qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Having secured her slot as one of the 14 highest-ranked eligible athletes in the women’s all-around qualification in the World Artistic Championships, she is now set to be the first female gymnast from the Philippines to compete in the Olympics since 1964.
Finnegan, only 20 years old, made her debut for the Philippines just last year in the Southeast Asian Games held in Vietnam, where she impressed by winning two gold medals for the country. Now, she is excited to honor her family and her country when she graces the Paris 2024 Olympics next year.
Eumir Marcial (Boxing)
Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial secured his spot as one of the Filipinos heading for the Paris Olympics in another major international competition: the Asian Games. Having won a slot in the finals of the men’s 71-80kg event, he already qualified for next year’s Summer Games, and even more than this, he earned the opportunity to win yet another Olympic medal.
In Tokyo 2020, Marcial was a huge part of the Philippines’ biggest medal haul in Olympic history as he proudly brought home a bronze medal for his event. Come Paris 2024, will he be able to win another?
Nesthy Petecio
Nesthy Petecio is ready to head back to the Olympic stage. After advancing to the 57kg finals of the World Qualification Tournament for boxing on March 12, 2024, she took one of the two slots in her category, and thus, became the fifth athlete from the Philippines to book a coveted ticket to Paris. With this, she will have a chance to win yet another medal.
In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Petecio took home the first boxing medal won by a Filipino boxer in 25 years when she won the silver medal in the women’s featherweight event. Will she be able to top this come Paris?
Aira Villegas
As expected, Filipino boxers represent a large chunk of the Philippine Olympic delegates, as Aira Villegas became the sixth athlete and the third boxer to qualify for Paris 2024. With a dominant performance in the quarterfinals of the World Qualifying Tournament of the year that won her a unanimous 5-0 win, she secured her slot in the Summer Games as well.
Although the other Filipino boxers competing in the same tournament, including Carlo Paalam, Claudine Veloso, Mark Ashley Fajardo, Rogen Ladon, John Marvin, Ronald Chavez Jr., Hergie Bacyadan, and Riza Pasuit, were unable to secure their tickets this time around, they will still have a chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics through the second World Qualification Tournament later this year.
Rosegie Ramos
Weightlifting has become one of the Philippines’ focal points when it comes to the Olympics, as the country boasts many talented athletes who dominate the sport on an international level. But of all of them, Rosegie Ramos was the Philippines’ first weightlifting qualifier for Paris 2024.
At 20 years old, Ramos booked her ticket to France as the seventh representative for the Philippines overall after winning the 49kg category of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup, an Olympic qualifying tournament, in Thailand on April 1, Monday.
John Febuar Ceniza
The second Filipino athlete to lift their way to an Olympic qualification was John Febuar Ceniza. With this, he not only becomes the eighth Filipino to qualify for Paris, but he is also just the third Cebuano weightlifter in history to make it to the Olympics.
After lifting 132 kilograms in snatch and 168 kilograms in clean and jerk for a total of 300 kilograms, the 26-year-old finished in fourth place in the IWF World Cup in Thailand on April 2, Tuesday, to meet the qualification standards.
Elreen Ando
Although Hidilyn Diaz was unable to qualify for the 2024 Olympics under a new weight class, the Philippines’ hopes remain alive and well as Elreen Ando has become the third weightlifter to qualify for Paris.
The 25-year-old booked her place in the upcoming Summer Games as she completed a combined lift of 228kg in the 59kg weight class in the IWF World Cup in Thailand on April 3, Wednesday, edging out Olympic gold medalist Diaz.
Vanessa Sarno
The IWF World Cup is becoming a storied stage for Filipino weightlifters, as Vanessa Sarno joins the list of athletes whose performances in Thailand have won them tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sarno topped Group B of the women’s 71kg division with a total lift of 245kg, which was enough for her to qualify for a coveted slot in the upcoming Summer Games, only granted to the top 10 weightlifters in each category. On top of this, she also set a new Philippine record in the snatch event, where she lifted 110kg.
Joanie Delgaco
In the rowing Olympic qualifiers in Korea, Joanie Delgaco finished fourth place in the 2000-meter event to make history as the first Filipina rower to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also becomes the Philippines’ 12th Olympic representative.
“Sometimes I want to give up and never believed in myself. But here I am today blessed and god answered my long time prayer,” the Filipina shared on social media after punching her ticket to Paris.
Banner images from EJ Obiena, Aleah Finnegan, and Carlos Yulo on Instagram.
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