PARIS (Via PLDT HOME) — Rower Joanie Delgaco got to fight for another day, but fencer Samanta Catantan, and Fil-Am gymnasts Levi Ruivivar, Emma Malabuyo, and Aleah Finnegan saw their Olympic dreams come to an end in the Summer Olympic Games here on Sunday.
Delgaco, whose participation here was already a milestone as the first Filipina rower to qualify in the Olympics, set another achievement as she advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls on Sunday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
In a thrilling repechage race, Delgaco engaged in a neck-and-neck battle with Vietnam’s Pham Thi Hue, with the Filipina rower finding an extra gear midway through the 2,000-meter course, surging ahead to the finish with a time of 5:50.80, five seconds faster than her rival.
The 26-year-old Filipina ultimately clocked 7:55.00 to clinch the victory and advance to the next round.
Her achievement marked another milestone for Philippine rowing, following in the footsteps of Cris Nievares, who also reached the quarterfinals in the Tokyo Olympics.
Delgaco will compete in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, July 30.
“First-time Olympian Joanie just made history. Again. Qualifying in the quarterfinals means she is among the Top 24 in the world,” said rowing president Pato Gregorio.
“Joanie will try her best to reach the semifinals. We have to believe Filipinos can excel in rowing. Let me take this rare opportunity to solicit more support to kind-hearted corporate sponsors. Sana ma-tulungan po natin ang napakagandang sport na ito,” Gregorio added.
Meanwhile, Catantan bounced back from an injury scare and a three-point deficit to score a historic 15-13 win over Brazil’s Mariana Pistoia in the Round of 64, before giving top seed Arianna Errigo of Italy fits in a 12-15 loss that booted the Filipina out of the women’s individual foil fencing event.
The first-time Olympian Catantan, who prepared for the Olympics with the help of her Italian coach at Penn State University in Matteo Zennaro, stared at a 4-7 deficit and appeared to hurt the same left knee that she rehabilitated from an ACL injury suffered in the Cambodia SEA Games, when she backtracked in the first round against the Brazilian.
But Catantan brushed off the injury scare and aggressively pounced on her foe, an army officer in Brazil, to seize the lead at 9-8 en route to the victory that netted her a Round of 32 showdown against the top seed Errigo.
“Inaral namin ang laro ng Brazilian,” said Catantan’s Filipino coach Rolando “Amatov” Canlas, before Catantan went to practice on Saturday.
But while the no. 266 Catantan – the lowest-ranked fencer in the games — was able to handle the no. 65 Pistoia, the no. 2 Errigo was clearly the superior player, although the Filipina was able to give her all she can handle.
The 36-year-old Errigo, the gold medalist in the 2012 London Olympics, posted her biggest lead of 11-6 in the second, but the 22-year-old Catantan would not go away.
The Penn State standout was within striking distance until the third at 12-14, before Errigo secured the win with a point in the final 54 seconds for the victory.
Catantan may have failed to advance to the finals in her first Olympics, but her lone win was significant as it was the first by a Filipino fencer in the Olympics in a direct elimination round.
Barcelona Olympian (1992) and now Philippine Sports Commissioner Walter Torres won one bout (and lost five), but it was in the Round of Pool, failing to qualify for the finals at 53rd spot out of 59 participants.
Meanwhile, Ruivivar, Malabuyo and Finnegan are currently outside the Top 24 that would mean qualification to the all-around final. They are also out of the top 8 in each of the apparatus. A maximum of two athletes per country will qualify.
Ruivivar led the team in the balance beam with a score of 11.866, followed by Finnegan (11.466) and Malabuyo (12.233).
In the floor exercise, Malabuyo topped the team with a 13.100, while Finnegan scored 12.733 and Ruivivar 12.433.
In the vault, Ruivivar earned a 13.600, Malabuyo a 13.266, and Finnegan a 13.383.
The team concluded their rotation in the uneven bars with Ruivivar leading at 13.200, followed by Finnegan (12.566) and Malabuyo (12.500).
Ruivivar and Malabuyo are tied for 28th and 29th with total scores of 51.099, while Finnegan is at No. 33 with a total of 50.498.
While the final standings have yet to be determined with two more subdivisions to compete, the Filipina gymnasts have already etched their names in Philippine sports history as they ended a 60-year drought in the games with their participation.
“Our athletes displayed strong performances two days into the games,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino as he again made the rounds of the venues where Filipino athletes were to compete Sunday. “We have to note that during the qualifying rounds all athletes are giving their best in order to secure their spots in the next round.”
“So it was a tough one for them, but they still did an excellent job advancing,” he added.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Paris 2024: Delgaco becomes first Filipina rower to advance to Olympic quarterfinals”
