PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino visits rower Joanie Delgaco while training at the Metz Boat Club.

TWO of the country’s top medal prospects, gymnast Carlos Yulo and boxer Eumir Felix Marcial, and rower Joanie Delgaco kick off the Philippine campaign this Saturday (July 27)— a day after the Paris Olympics’ unique opening ceremony over the Seine River.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino expects returning Olympians Yulo and Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Marcial to kick-start the bid with the country hoping to match or surpass the historic first Olympic gold Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo won in Tokyo 2020 and the silvers of boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio.

“We’re looking forward to Caloy [Yulo], Eumir and Joanie giving the country that strong start in Paris,” said Tolentino, who will be flying to the French capital on Tuesday. “They’re all ready and inspired and in high spirits.”

Yulo, 23, who finished fourth in Tokyo in vault,  competes in the qualification round of the men’s individual all-around beginning at 9:30 p.m.(Philippine time) with the finals of set on Wednesday (July 31.)

The 28-year-old Marcial, on the other hand, will be competing in the light-heavyweight division after bringing home the middleweight bronze medal from Tokyo.

The Zamboanga City native, who has a 5-0 record as a pro, starts his bid, also at 9:30 p.m. (Philippine time) on Saturday.

Delgaco, meanwhile, tries to advance to the finals from the women’s single Sculls heats at 3 p.m.(Philippine time)—she’s the first Filipina to qualify for Olympic rowing.

Tolentino has earlier declared confidence that the 22-athlete Team Philippines will deliver in Paris.

“This team, I believe, is the most prepared in Philippine Olympic history,” said Tolentino, who thanked the Philippine Sports Commission for its unrelenting support to the campaign that turned feverish with the first-ever pre-Olympic training camp in Metz, France.

“Our athletes have trained and prepared through a tried-and-tested template that guarantees an Olympic medal,” he added.

A two-time world champion—in 2019 floor exercise and 2021 in vault—Yulo is joined by three more gymnasts—Filipino-Americans Aleah Finnegan, Levi Jung-Ruivivar and Emma Malabuyom while Marcial has returning Olympians Petecio and Paalam, Aira Villegas and Hergie Bacyadan in boxing.

The Philippines marks its 100th year of participation in Paris, which will gather 10,714 athletes from 206 nations competing in 329 events from 32 sports.

MANILA — Carlos Yulo clinched the bronze medal in the floor exercise event of the 2024 FIG Men’s Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series Baku leg in Azerbaijan on Saturday (09 March 2024), Manila time.

The Filipino gymnast, who punched a ticket last October to the 2024 Paris Olympics, earned a score of 14.366 points with a difficulty level of 6.3 and an execution score of 8.066 points.

Yulo, who previously secured gold in floor exercise in 2019 and vault in 2021 at the World Championships, secured third place behind gold medalist Yahor Sharamkou of Belarus and silver medalist Minami Kazuki of Japan.

Sharamkou achieved a score of 14.933 points, with a difficulty level of 6.4 and an execution score of 8.533. Meanwhile, Minami tallied 14.666 points with a difficulty of 6.2 and execution of 8.466 in the eight-man final.

Eddie Penev of Bulgaria finished fourth with 14.166 points, and Ryu Sunghyun of South Korea secured fifth place with 14.133 points.

Yuri Guimaraes of Brazil ranked sixth with 13.900 points, followed by Aurel Benovic of Croatia in seventh with 13.833, and Illia Kovtun of Ukraine in eighth with 13.366.

Yulo salvaged a medal in the tournament after failing to advance to the championship round in five other apparatuses. He placed third in the preliminaries of floor exercise with 14.333 points. However, he ranked 21st in vault preliminaries, 16th in horizontal bar, 41st in pommel horse, ninth in parallel bars, and 18th in still rings. Only the top eight gymnasts in each apparatus advanced to the finals.

Another Filipino gymnast, Emma Malabuyo, will contend for a medal in the women’s floor exercise final on Sunday, March 10.

This World Cup Baku series leg marks Yulo’s first tournament since the World Championships last October and serves as part of his preparations for the Paris Olympics.

(By el Amigo/MNM)