PH athletes keep flag afloat despite formidable odds
To some, finishing sixth might seem like a failed campaign, a pathetic attempt to celebrate a lower-tier ranking.
But that is the wrong. We aimed for fifth not to settle, but it is because you climb a mountain one step at a time. We tried to rally the delegation to take that next step. It simply didn’t happen.
But let’s be honest. From officiating to organization, the hurdles were immense. We don’t need to point fingers, the fans saw it.
In boxing, tennis, gymnastics, floorball, taekwondo, and basketball, everything was obvious—enough to make you want to smash your TV screen, right?
However, the resilience shown by our athletes was incredible.
After bagging three golds in the relays, the triathlon team was struck by food poisoning that same night. Kira Ellis, herself hospitalized the night before, displayed incredible heart by returning to the course. With her teammate still in the hospital and unable to race, Ellis competed solo and still managed to salvage a silver medal to add to her two previous golds and double silvers.
The boxing campaign yielded one of our lowest medal outputs in recent memory, securing just a single gold in Thailand. The difficulty of the tournament was underscored by the early exits of decorated veterans Nesthy Petecio and Hergie Bacyadan, whose world-class pedigree was unfortunately not enough to overcome the challenges faced in this year’s draw.
One can only wonder: what if all those strokes of ‘bad luck’ had turned into gold?
It is unfair to read articles mocking our officials during this time. They have been on the ground, fighting for the athletes and addressing these issues in real-time.
It is a bitter irony that a nation celebrated for its world-class hospitality is also burdened by a persistent ‘crab mentality’—a habit of tearing our own people down, whether they are soaring high or already struggling on the ground.
Regardless of the final Open Water Swimming results, we remain sixth.
However, the total medal count tells a different story. With a collection of 276 medals, we stand third in overall output. Our delegation produced the most bronze medals and a significant number of silvers. In the final standings, we were statistically very close—trailing the number 5 rank by only two golds and the number 4 spot by just six.
That isn’t a lack of skill; that is a delegation fighting tooth and nail against a competition landscape that simply did not favor us this year.
Salamat po sa mga sumusuporta at nagmamahal sa ating mga atleta… mas makakatulong ito para mas lumaban sila.
Dapat BAYANIHAN— hindi ang sisihan!
