PARIS—With the golden double of ace gymnast Carlos Edrei Yulo and a bronze by boxer Aira Villegas, the Philippines now ranks 23d in the 2024 Paris Olympics medal standings.
Leading the race is the United States with 24 golds, 31 silvers, and 31 bronzes, followed by the Peoples’ Republic of China with 22 golds, 22 silvers, and 16 bronzes. At third place is Australia, with 14 golds, 12 silvers, and 10 bronzes.
Host France is at fourth, with 13 golds, 16 silvers, and 19 bronzes, followed closely at 5th by Great Britain with 12 golds, 15 silvers, and 19 bronzes. (For the full list, please log in at www.manilastandard.net.)
When Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio steps out of the ring Thursday morning Manila time, the Philippines medal count would increase by one. If she moves on to fight for the gold, it would surely the country’s standings.
Still waiting in the wings to get a chance for Olympic glory are weightlifters Vanessa Sarno, John Ceniza and Elreen Ando; and golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan.
In an interview before Petecio’s match, coach Reynaldo Galido told the Standard that he likes what he sees.
“Parang tigre, gigil na gigil. Akala mo first time sa Olympics eh,” said Galido in amazement of his ward, who entered the Roland Garros ring at 3:46 a.m. (Thursday in the Philippines) against Poland’s Julia Szeremeta.
While acknowledging the challenge posed by Szeremeta, Galido expressed confidence in Petecio’s ability to advance.
“She’s a different fighter now,” Galido said.
If Petecio hurdles her Polish foe, a 2023 European Championships winner, a potential final showdown against top-seeded Taiwanese Lin Yu Ting, who the Filipina beat in Tokyo, looms large.
Lin is one of two boxers embroiled in a row over gender at the Paris Olympics, disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after a sex chromosome test ruled her ineligible. Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who has advanced to the finals in another division, is the other one.
Petecio is the last athlete standing from the powerhouse boxing team in these games, after Aira Villegas lost to Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu early Wednesday morning.
Villegas’ bronze medal was Philippine boxing’s fifth in the Olympics, counting those of Jose Villanueva (1932 Los Angeles), Leopoldo Serrantes (1988 Seoul), Roel Velasco (1992 Barcelona) and Eumir Marcial (2021 Tokyo).
The Philippines has four boxing silvers in the Olympics, courtesy of Anthony Villanueva (1964 Tokyo), Onyok Velasco (1992 Atlanta), Nesthy Petecio (2021 Tokyo) and Carlo Paalam (2021 Tokyo).
