Joanie Delgaco finishes her maiden Olympic campaign on a high note with a top-20 finish in Paris after a late comeback.
Joanie Delgaco saved the best for last in her Olympic rowing debut, finishing 20th overall in the women’s single sculls on Friday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Île-de-France.
Competing in Finals D, Delgaco finished with a time of 7:43.83, which sealed her remarkable finish, as this is also her best recorded time from the tournament, following the repechage last Saturday.
Paddling in fifth place, the FIlipina switched to a wider stroke at around the 1,400-meter mark, which gave her much-needed pace late into the contest. And the move paid off, as she soared to second place by the 1,500-meter mark after overtaking Iran’s Fatemeh Mojallah, Vietnam’s Thi Hue Pham, and Turkey’s Elis Ozbay.
Delgaco finished behind Alejandra Alonso Alderete, who registered a time of 7:42.09. By topping Finals D, the Puerto Rican finishes 19th overall in the Paris Olympics’ women’s single sculls.
Mojallah was third-fastest (7:46.08) in Finals D, good for 20th overall. She was followed by Ozbay (7:46.95), Pham (7:47.84), and Adriana Sanguineti (7:49.31) for the 21st to 24th overall finishes.
Joanie Delgaco now exits Paris as part of the world’s top 20 rowers, while setting the Philippines’ best finish in the modern Olympic format. She surpasses Cris Nievarez, who finished 23rd overall in the Tokyo Olympics men’s single sculls in 2021.
Delgaco is also the first-ever Filipina Olympic rower, making her debut nothing short of memorable. Without question, there’s no way but up for this 26-year-old Filipina sculler.
Banner Image from the Philippine Rowing Association on Facebook.
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