RP athletes at the 2012 Olympics

[ceedee]

Final List of Philippine delegation to the London Olympics

1.) boxing - Mark Anthony Barriga - men's light-flyweight
2.) athletics - Maristella Torres - women's long jump
3.) athletics - Rene Herrera - 3000 steeplechase
4.) men's swimming - Jessie King Lacuna - men's freestyle
5.) women's swimming - Jasmine Alkhadi - women's freestyle
6.) judo - Tomohiko Hoshina - men's heavyweight
7.) shooting - Brian Rosario - men's skeet
8.) cycling - Daniel Calauag - BMX
9.) weightlifting - Hidilyn Diaz -women's 58-kgs
10.) archery - Mark Javier - mens individual
11.) archery = Rachel Cabral - womens individual

good luck, team .

they will need lots of it..

[Sindo]

Good luck to all Pinoy athletes who will leave to London !

Ceedee, you have a Private Message, please have a look when you can Thanks!

[emgeedee]

11 Filipino Olympians are all set to vie for the country's first ever Olympic gold medal in London next month.

This is so far the least number of contingent the Philippines has sent to represent the country in the Olympics since the 12 athlete delegation to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco took home the country's second silver so far. After that, the Philippines has never won a medal. It has been 16 years of an Olympic medal drought, and this is the main motivation of the 11 Filipino Olympians who will compete in 9 different events.

Let us meet the 11 Filipino Olympians who will represent the country in the 2012 London Olympics and hopefully bring home the first ever gold medal.

Let us start with Mark Anthony Barrriga.



This 19-year-old of Panabo, Davao del Norte is the country's lone representative in boxing. Mark Anthony Barriga stunned the world when he won the light-flyweight gold medal in the prestigious Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament for two straight years. The latest one was in May when he fought an intelligent fight against the 29-year-old Russian David Ayrapetyan, the 2010 European champion and 2011 silver medalist in the World Championships.

Barriga and Ayrapetyan fought for three very close rounds with the first two being tied at 3-3 then 6-6. However, in the final round, Mark Anthony Barriga was able to escape with a thin 10-9 win because of his smartness on the ring.

Mark Anthony Barriga will compete in the Men's light-flyweight, the same division where brothers Roel and Mansueto Velasco won bronze and silver medals respectively. Roel finished third in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, while Onyok ended up with a silver after bowing to Daniel Petrov of Bulgaria in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. It could have been a gold medal for the Philippines, but the fight was controversially awarded to the Bulgarian.

Since then, the Philippines has never won and Olympic medal. Hopefully, this young Cebuano fighter will another history.



Rene Herrera, 32, will represent the Philippines in steeplechase. He has won five straight gold medals in SEA Games. The latest was in Palembang, Indonesia.



Marestella Torres is hailed as the long jump queen of the Philippines. Bringing with her to the London Olympics is her personal best of 6.71 meters which she achieved in the 2011 Sea Games in Palembang, Indonesia.

Marestella Torres, born on February 20, 1981, finished fourth during the 2002 Asian Championships. Three years later, she finished second in the same sporting event. In that same year, Torres also joined in the World Chamionships, but failed to reach the finals.

Marestella Torres was also sent by the Philippines to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2009, she again competed in the Asian Championships where she won the gold medal with a long jump record of 6.51 meters.



Another strong contender for an Olympic gold medal is weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz of Zamboanga City.

Hidilyn Diaz became the first Filipina to compete in the Olympics. She first competed in the 58 kg division in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Despite being just 17 years old, she still finished 11th overall.

Hidilyn Diaz hopes to surpass her personal best of 219 kgs by trying to lift 100 kgs in the snatch and 125 kgs in the clean and jerk.



The 19-year-old Jasmine Alkhaldi achieved her three best records during the World Athletic Conference Championships.

100 meter freestyle: third (50.19 seconds)

50 meter freestyle: fifth (23.23 seconds)

200 meter freestyle: seventh (1:50:23 minutes)

She qualified herself for the Olympics by universality through her participation and best time in the World Championships.

Jasmine Alkhaldi of Parañaque hopes to earn new personal best records in the 2012 London Olympics.



Jessie Khing Lacuna is also another swimmer to represent the country in London. He also made it to the Olympics by universality through his participation and best time in the 2011 World Championships.



Brian Rosario is currently the best Filipino skeet shooter hitting six times the minimum qualifying Olympic score since the Beijing Olympics.

He also joined the 2011 Sydney World Cup Series hitting the Olympic minimum qualifying score.

Brian Rosario scored his highest of 120, which is so far the best record for the Philippines in international skeet tournaments. Rosario has also surpassed the minimum qualifying score (MQS) in both local and international competitions.

Last January, Brian Rosario scored 121 and later broke it after garnering 122 in a local tournament the following month. That is one point higher than the gold medal record set in Beijing, which also means Brian Rosario could make it to a medal finish next month.



This 24-year-old Fil-Japanese Tomohiko Aldaba Hoshina will represent the Philippines in the 100+ kg Men's Judo in London.

This Tokyo-based high school teacher gained his ticket to London after scoring 27 points in the 2011 World Judo Championships in Paris and also in the Asian Championships.

Tomohiko Aldaba currently ranks 28th of the 32 contenders in his weight division.



Another hope for an Olympic medal is Fil-Am BMX rider Daniel Caluag. He qualified himself for the London Olympics during the UCI BMX World Championship.



And the latest inclusion to the list of Filipino Olympians are archers Mark Javier and Rachel Cabral.

Mark Javier and Rachel Cabral had steady performances in the World Archery Championships, the last Olympic qualifying event for archery.

Out of the 35 countries which participated in the said event in Ogden, Utah, Mark Javier finished 42nd in his event while Rachel Cabral placed 37th out of more than a hundred participants.

There were only seven and 8 slots open in the Olympics for men and women respectively. But the steady performances of Mark Javier and Rachel Cabral earned them their passes for the London Olympics.

So far, there are 11 final Filipino Olympians that will represent the country and hopefully take home the slippery gold medal.

[triggersnipe]

Si Hidilyn Diaz ang may malaking chance na maka medal dito...

[Sindo]

Hello everyone,

I see here there are many Philippines sport supporters and I would like to invite you on an international forum about Olympic sports, where sport fans from all around the world can follow all sport events and be always updated about all of them, in particular about sports which don't get much coverage on national medias.


We gather sport fans from all around the world, with the aim to discuss about all of them (especially smaller sports which don't take much attention on medias), everyone representing his nation and supporting favourite athletes and teams before, during and after Olympic Games.


If you are interested to take part, here is the link: www.totallympics.com


As you see there is a section for each Olympic sport and we follow every single sport event, with at least one thread for each sport event, where you will find all results and comments about that event.

You can register and start posting about all sports, representing Philippines and sharing your comments about all sport events.

Here is the Philippines National Thread, where all news and points of view about your nation can be posted: http://www.totallympics.com/forum.ph...hread&tid=2770

We already have some Pinoy sport fans (ceedee included, even if I'm not able to contact him anymore ) and it would be nice to make the PHI community bigger, making the Philippines National Thread more and more active and busy

I hope to see you soon on Totallympics, the home of Olympic Sports !

Feel free to contact me for any problem or question.

Thanks!

Matteo

[ceedee]

breakdown of Philippines medal chances in the 2012 Olympics

Mark Anthony Barriga - light-flyweight (boxing)
A lot of Filipinos are pinning their hope on this boxer to end the 16-year Olympic medal drought. but it will be a very huge task considering that his division is teeming with world-class veteran campaigners. In fact, three of the four medalists in the last Olympics in Beijing are back in London led by defending gold medalist and world champion Zou Shiming of China (with whom Barriga should be thanking for securing his Olympic slot). silver medalist and 2011 world championship bronze medal winner Pürevdorjiin Serdamba of Mongolia and bronze medal winner Paddy Barnes of Ireland will try to improve their standing in London. Other notable opponents of Barriga includes South Korean Shin Jong-Hun and Russian David Ayrapetyan, who won silver and bronze medals in the recent World championship in Baku, SEA rival Kaew Pongprayoon of Thailand, and 2010 Asian Games silver medalist Birzhan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan, who also topped the Asian qualifiers. With these impressive cast, Barriga will just hope that he will not be paired with any of these boxers in the earlier round and should be aggressive enough to go for a knock-out as we all know Olympic boxing has a long history of highly-controversial decisions by the judges. I also see that his participation in London will be considered his preparation for 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as he will only be 23 years old by that time.

Hidilyn Diaz - women's 58-kg (weightlifting)
this will be her 2nd Olympic participation and we are hoping that she will improve her 11th-place finish in Beijing. but like in any Olympic sport, a medal finish could take a lot of luck as she could only finished 7th in last year's World Championship in France and 4th place in the recent Asian championship in South Korea. if she will be aiming for 225 total lift, that will still be short by 1 kg of the bronze medal winner in the last Olympics.

Maristella Torres - long Jump (athletics)
also in her 2nd Olympic stint, her personal best of 6.71m which she set in 2011 SEA Games is way, way, way below from 2012 best of 7.15m set by American Britney Reese in the recent US Olympic trials. so a semifinal finish will be a big achievement for her.

Daniel Calauag - BMX (cycling)
for me, he is the surprise Filipino Olympic qualifier. and more surprisingly he will be the only Asian BMX rider to qualify in this event and for that alone, this is already the biggest achievement to the Philippine delegation. as for his medal chances, it will be a longshot as he will go up against world champion Sam Willoughby of Australia, world number two Connor Fields of the United States and other European top riders, btw, Calauag is ranked 84th in the world and top Asian BMX rider based on UCI rankings as of June 26, 2012.

Tomohiko Aldaba Hoshina - heavyweight (Judo)
if he will get a good opening round opponent and wins it, it will be a big achievement already.

Rene Herrera - 3000m steeplechase (athletics)
Jasmine Alkhaldi - womens 100m-freestyle (swimming)
Jessie Khing Lacuna - mens 100m freestyle (swimming)
Brian Rosario - men's skeet (shooting)
Mark Javier - men's individual (archery)
Rachel Cabral - women's individual (archery)
nothing is expecting much from this group to qualify to the next round. only Mark Javier will be in his 2nd Olympic stint

expect another zero-medal output with this group and hope for the best in the next Olympics where Barriga and possibly Diaz will have a greater chance to break a 20-year Olympic medal drought.

[Sindo]

Nice analysis, ceedee. I would love to have it also in the Philippines National Thread on Totallympics.

How can I talk with you ? have you read my Private Messages ? Please, let me know something.
Thank you !

Matteo

[Cool_Enz]

Unlike in previous Olympics, the 11-athlete Philippine delegation to the upcoming London Olympiad does not really have a serious medal contender.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Roberto Cruz was a favorite to win a medal when taekwondo made its Olympic debut. Cruz was a multi-titled medalist in the WTF World Championships. Four years later in Athens, boxer Harry Tañamor and taekwondo jins Tshomlee Go, Donald Giesler and Toni Rivero were all medal contenders. In Beijing, Tañamor, Go and Rivero were back for another tour of duty and were again legitimate candidates for a podium finish.

In London, boxer Mark Anthony Barriga is the obvious choice to break the country's 16-year medal drought in the Olympics. But the Panabo native is facing an acid test in the light flyweight division. The key to Barriga's medal chances is to have the luck of the draw and perhaps pull off a couple of upsets along the way. Otherwise, he would really have a tough time facing the likes of Zou Shiming, who beat him in last year's AIBA World Championship in Baku.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and BMX rider Danny Caluag aren't likely to win any medals but they should be really proud if they make it to the top five of their respective events.

The rest of the RP delegation, sad to say, will only be in London for exposure.

[majicminded]

Salute to the Philippine team!



Feel free to share...

[ceedee]

^^
first row... Mark Barriga, Maristella Torres, Rene Herrera
second row... Jasmine Alkhaldi, Rachel Cabral
third row... Jessie Lacuna, Tomohiko Hoshina, Brian Rosario
fourth row - Hidilyn Diaz, Daniel Calauag, Mark Javier


good luck, team

[prize]

Surprise the world! Team Philippines!

[majicminded]

This article from AKTV says we have 12 Filipinos for London Olympics... we are missing one head count if these are all athletes.

[hooney]

Best of luck!!!!!!

[ceedee]

This article from AKTV says we have 12 Filipinos for London Olympics... we are missing one head count if these are all athletes.

I'm 101% sure that this was an erroneous report because in their earlier reports, they reported only 11 athletes.

[faaip_de_oiad]

Go Team Philippines!

I think that weight lifting could be a good sport for us. Thailand has been winning a lot of golds in women's weight lifting. It's funny how our sporting fates deviated from each other after 1996.

In 1996, Thailand and the Philippines had a boxer in the gold medal match. Somluck Kamsing ended up winning the gold and since then, Thailand has won a gold in every Olympiad staged.

Pre-1996
Thailand - 0 gold 1 silver 3 bronze
Philippines - 0 gold 1 silver 7 bronze

1996 onwards
Thailand - 7 golds 3 silvers 7 bronzes
Philippines - 0 gold 1 silver 0 bronze

[quitziful]

[Cool_Enz]

I'm 101% sure that this was an erroneous report because in their earlier reports, they reported only 11 athletes.

I'm also sure that only 11 athletes will represent the Philippines in the upcoming London Olympics. There was indeed a mistake in that report.

[Cool_Enz]

Go Team Philippines!

I think that weight lifting could be a good sport for us. Thailand has been winning a lot of golds in women's weight lifting. It's funny how our sporting fates deviated from each other after 1996.

In 1996, Thailand and the Philippines had a boxer in the gold medal match. Somluck Kamsing ended up winning the gold and since then, Thailand has won a gold in every Olympiad staged.

Pre-1996
Thailand - 0 gold 1 silver 3 bronze
Philippines - 0 gold 1 silver 7 bronze

1996 onwards
Thailand - 7 golds 3 silvers 7 bronzes
Philippines - 0 gold 1 silver 0 bronze

Nice observation pare,

I always say that if there's a country that the Philippines should emulate in sports, it's Thailand.

Why?

Filipinos and Thais have the same physical appearances so there's no more excuse that Southeast Asians are an inferior race to Caucasians and blacks with a number of Thai athletes excelling not only in boxing but in a few number of sports, including Olympic events. This simply means that Filipinos can excel too given the proper training, support and nutrition under a long-term sports program.

As you mentioned, the two Southeast Asian countries were in the same level not too long ago. Always dependent on their respective boxers and happy to bring home a bronze medal. But this all changed after 1996 following Somluck's triumph and the Thai government's serious bid in boosting the kingdom's sports program.

Look at where Thailand is now? Not only did they remain a boxing powerhouse but also produced world and Olympic champions in weightlifting and taekwondo. They also have world-class golfers and their women's volleyball team are regular participants in the prestigious FIVB World Grand Prix where it has posted wins over traditional powerhouses such as Cuba and China.

[faaip_de_oiad]

Nice observation pare,

I always say that if there's a country that the Philippines should emulate in sports, it's Thailand.

Why?

Filipinos and Thais have the same physical appearances so there's no more excuse that Southeast Asians are an inferior race to Caucasians and blacks with a number of Thai athletes excelling not only in boxing but in a few number of sports, including Olympic events. This simply means that Filipinos can excel too given the proper training, support and nutrition under a long-term sports program.

As you mentioned, the two Southeast Asian countries were in the same level not too long ago. Always dependent on their respective boxers and happy to bring home a bronze medal. But this all changed after 1996 following Somluck's triumph and the Thai government's serious bid in boosting the kingdom's sports program.

Look at where Thailand is now? Not only did they remain a boxing powerhouse but also produced world and Olympic champions in weightlifting and taekwondo. They also have world-class golfers and their women's volleyball team are regular participants in the prestigious FIVB World Grand Prix where it has posted wins over traditional powerhouses such as Cuba and China.

Not too sound to negative, but I think Manny Pacquiao's success has caused Filipinos to be less passionate about the quest for the first Olympic gold.

[yoying00]

hindi pala nakalusot si Japoy (taekwondo) ??? akala ko kasama