The Philippine Sports Commission has assembled numerous support teams for Olympic-bound athletes and those who are going to join Olympic qualifiers.
PSC chairman William Ramirez said a crew of doctors, psychologists, physiologists, and conditioning coaches have now been assigned to specific athletes when they compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
He believes that pole vaulter EJ Obiena and gymnast Carlos Yulo will be needing the help of these support groups in their quest for glory in the Olympiad.
“They are now preparing for their foreign exposures. And with the support that we are giving, they are expected to deliver, just like in the SEA Games,” said Ramirez.
Obiena is now in thick of preparations in Italy, while Yulo is now in Japan to get ready also.
More athletes who are dreaming of earning slots are now preparing to join qualifiers, and these support teams will join them.
So far, three-time Olympian Hidilyn Diaz, will be among 10 Philippine weightlifters who will compete in the Roma 2020 World Cup.
Diaz, who won a gold in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, will be there when it reels off from January 27 to 31, at the Pala Pellicone in Rome.
A personal team has already been formed by Diaz in her preparation for the -57 kgs, they are coaches Kaiwen Gao and Julius Naranjo.
She will be joined by Cebuano weightlifters Elreen Ann Ando and John Fabuar Ceniza are now gearing up to improve their chances.
The tournament is sanctioned by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) as an Olympic qualification event in the silver category.
The top 20 ranked weightlifters in the world will get a chance to compete in the Olympics.
Ando will be competing in the 64 kilogram category while Fabuar will be campaigning in the 55 kilogram category.
After Rome, they will compete in their sixth and final Olympic qualifier in March in Kazakhstan.
Members of the national athletics team are all set to join two qualifiers for 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the next two months.
And the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association will have the support of the PSC when these tracksters join two big tournaments this February and March
The support was finalized after Ramirez met with Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA), Inc. President, Philip Ella Juico last Thursday
The government sports agency made good on its promise to fully-support national athletes President Rodrigo Duterte pledged P100 million to fund the foreign exposure who are seeking Olympic qualifying slots.
Female pole vaulter Natalie Uy, sprinter-hurdler Eric Cray, runner Kristina Knott, shot putter Willie Morrison and newly-added marathoner Christine Hallasgo are joining qualifiers with Mary Joy Tabal.
The PATAFA is getting ready with their support plans to have Uy, Cray, Knott and Morrison in their participation in the Asian Indoor this February in China, and the World Indoors.
Tabal is training in Japan, and will seek separate qualifiers with Hallasgo when they join different qualifying competitions abroad.