Where are Pinoy athletes in Paris 2024 now?

THE WHOLE Filipino community celebrated on Saturday night, August 3, after the Philippines won its first medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The country has been included in the medal tally with one gold, courtesy of 24-year-old gymnast Carlos Yulo who scored 15.00 with his performance in the men’s floor exercise finals.

With his triumph, Yulo became the second Olympic gold medalist, following weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

As of 12:50 p.m. on August 4, China is still leading the medal tally with 37 medals: 16 gold, 12 silver, and nine bronze. The United States came in second with 14 gold medals, followed by France with 12 gold medals, according to Paris 2024’s website.

The medal tally would keep growing as battles in different sports further continued.

So, what’s the current standing of other Filipino athletes in the Olympic games?

Leap to finals

Despite a rocky start, EJ Obiena leaped his way to his “second Olympic final” after clearing 5.75 meters in the men’s pole vault qualification.

The 28-year-old athletics ace skipped the starting height of 5.40 meters and opted to jump at 5.60 meters. However, Obiena missed his first two jumps, pushing him to the edge of elimination.

The pole vaulter made a brave move by raising the bar at 5.70 meters and 5.75 meters, which he both cleared successfully to earn a spot in the Top 12.

Obiena admitted that he was even nervous during the qualification round.

“Sorry po sa mga napakaba ko kanina. Ako rin po kinabahan ng todo ng ‘di ko maintindihan,” said the pole vaulter.

Obiena will compete in the men’s pole vault finals on August 5, along with the 11 other finalists.

Semis-bound

Filipina boxer Aira Villegas secured the Philippines another medal after she emerged victorious in her match against French boxer Wassila Lkhadiri in the women’s 50kg quarterfinal boxing match on early Sunday (Manila time).

The Olympic debutant from Tacloban City won in a thrilling 3-2 split decision: 29-28, 29-28, 27-30, 28-29, 29-28.

This victory assured Villegas of at least a bronze medal, the Philippines’ first medal in boxing in Paris 2024.

She will face Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the semifinal round on August 7.

Meanwhile, boxer Nesthy Petecio will try to follow Villegas’ footsteps and continue the country’s boxing campaign in Paris 2024 as she advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s featherweight class, after defeating hometown bet Amina Zidani in the women’s 57kg round of 16 boxing match with a 4-1 win.

Petecio will be up against China’s Zichun Xu in the quarterfinals on August 4, Sunday, at 9:30 p.m.

Olympic exit

Filipino boxer Carlo Paalam, who was aiming for his second Olympic medal, concluded his journey in Paris 2024, after losing to Australia’s Charlie Senior in the men’s boxing 57kg quarterfinals on Saturday.

Senior defeated the Bukidnon pride via a 3-2 split decision, earning the favor of three of the five judges with the scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. 

The two judges, on the other hand, gave Paalam scores of 30-27, 29-28.

The Tokyo 2020 silver medalist gave his all-out performance despite not advancing to the semifinals.

“Hindi man pabor sa atin ang resulta ngayong gabi, taas-noo pa rin tayo. Binigay ko ang lahat para sa bayan,” he wrote in a Facebook post, thanking those who supported and prayed for him.

“Hindi ito ang huli. Patuloy akong mag-eensayo at babalik akong mas malakas para sa susunod na laban,” he assured.

Paalam is the third Pinoy boxer to end his Olympic run, following Hergie Bacyadan and Eumir Marcial.

Other Pinoy athletes who bowed out in Paris 2024 were Filipina rower Joanie Delgaco; gymnasts Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar; swimmers Kayla Sanchez and Jarod Hatch; judoka Kiyomi Watanabe; and fencer Sam Catantan.

Filipinos celebrate 1st Paris 2024 gold medal

Meanwhile, congratulatory messages for Yulo poured in across social media platforms after he clinched the country’s first gold medal in Paris 2024 and the second Olympic gold in Philippine history.

His outstanding performance in the men’s floor exercise finals earned him 15.00 points, besting Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat (14.966) and Great Britain’s Jake Jarman (14.933), who took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold medalist, couldn’t be more proud of Yulo’s victory.

“Proud ako sa iyo. I enjoy mo ang bunga ng pinagpaguran mo. At lagi mong ibabalik – sa Diyos at bayan, dahil lahat ng tagumpay natin ay hindi pansarili,” Diaz said in an Instagram post, sharing a photo of her with the 24-year-old gymnast.

She added, “Salamat sa lahat ng maganda at mabuting ginagawa at gagawin mo pa para sa Diyos at bayan! Congratulations!”

In recognition of his achievement, the House of Representatives said it would give a P3 million reward to Yulo.

The Pinoy gymnast will try to win another medal when he competes in the vault finals on Sunday.

Philippine bets John Cabang Tolentino and Lauren Hoffman will also kick off their Olympic debut on Sunday, competing in the men’s 110m hurdles and women’s 400m hurdles, respectively.