I waited and waited, hoping to see at least one of our countrymen take the stage in the Beijing Olympics. Erik Santos was supposed to be at the Games. It has been reported here in this blog, and in many other sites, that Erik would be singing at the Closing Ceremonies.
Unfortunately, unless six pairs of eyes missed him, he was just not there!
So, what happened?
I’m still trying to find out.
Today marked the last official appearance of the Philippine Olympians in Beijing. It’s a sad ending to high hopes of a medal once again being brought home to the country. The last two athletes, Rexel Ryan Fabriga (Diving) and Mary Antoinette Rivero (Taekwondo), didn’t qualify to compete beyond the preliminaries of their respective events today.
Though the country sent 15 athletes to the Games, in reality, the medal hopes rested on the shoulders of only two competitors. These were Henry Tanamor in boxing and Tshomlee Go in taekwondo. Alas, both fell early in their events.
This is now the third straight Olympic …read more
We’ve watched the medal hopes of the Philippines fade as one by one, Filipino Olympians fell by the wayside. Of the last four, only two remain as two more failed to advance:
* Maristella Torres (Athletics) didn’t advance beyond the qualifying rounds of the Women’s Long Jump event on August 19, 2008.
* Tshomlee Go (Taekwondo) lost his Men’s 58kg preliminary round to Ryan Carneli of Australia today, August 20, 2008. You can read a detailed account of his bout here.
The remaining two athletes are scheduled for their first Olympic appearances on Friday, August 22, 2008.
* Rexel Ryan Fabriga (Diving) will be …read more
Our last report had 12 remaining Filipino athletes competing in the Beijing Olympics. Here’s the latest news from The Games
1. Mark Javier (Archery) was beaten in the Men’s Individual 1/32 Eliminations by Taipei’s Kuo Cheng Wei on August 13, 2008.
2. Henry Dagmil (Athletics) ended his Olympic stint at rank #18 in a field of 20 in his qualifying rounds in the Men’s Long Jump Event on August 16, 2008.
3. Maristella Torres (Athletics) still has her Women’s Long Jump event’s qualifying rounds on Tuesday, August 19, 2008.
4. Henry Tanamor (Boxing) lost his bout …read more
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The Beijing Olympics has started! I’m so excited to watch the delayed telecast tonight. But there are many photos already coming out from the Opening Ceremony, and it looks absolutely fantabulous! I can’t wait to see our athletes’ entrance, led by flag bearer Manny Pacquiao.
The very first photo we can show you from Beijing is not one of the athletes, nor the ceremony. Those will come later. Our President Gloria Arroyo and her husband Mike Arroyo met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and his wife Liu Yongqing at an official banquet.
Five Filipino swimmers are in Beijing to compete and try to bring home a medal for the Philippines. These five athletes are:
Miguel Molina James Wlsh Ryan Arabejo Daniel CoakleyChristel Simms
They were interviewed by GMA7’s TimeOut, at the Trace College in Los Banos, Laguna. Miguel Molina and Christel Simms, in particular, are featured in this clip:
We’re cheering for you guys! Go go, Pinoy Olympians!
One more day and we’ll get a chance to cheer for our countrymen in the Beijing Olympics!
There is once again lots of excitement and anticipation. Would this be the year that the Philippines will win its first Olympic gold? The Philippine government has put together a special monetary incentive for our athletes to aim for the gold. The latest report has the figure at 15 million pesos ($344,700).
There are 15 Filipino Olympians in Beijing:
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