Majority of PH Olympians already in Tokyo

TOKYO – Except for the athletics and golf bets, Filipino athletes are already at the Olympic Village here on Tuesday, three days before the opening ceremony.

Chef de Mission Nonong Araneta said the Filipinos are already training.

“There are challenges in bringing the athletes to their training venues but they are all under control,” Araneta, the football association president, said in a news release.

Athletes and delegation members have to follow an activity plan in getting from one venue to another, one of the protocols to guarantee the safety of everyone from Covid-19.

Athletes will be swab-tested every four days. Once positive, they are automatically barred from their events.

Pole vaulter EJ Obiena is due at the village on Friday, while runner Kristina Knott is staying at a hotel in Nagasaki where the training venue is located.

Obiena will come from the World Athletics elite training camp in Formia, Italy, a few hours before the inaugural rites scheduled at 8 p.m.

US Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso, according to Araneta, is already in town but prefers to stay in a hotel closer to the golf venue.

“Yuka arrived on Monday and she is staying at the Okura Hotel with his father-coach, Masakazu, and the other coaches,” Araneta said.

The Kasumigaseki Country Club, which will host the men’s and women’s competitions, is about 70 kilometers or over an hour drive away from the Olympic Village, prompting Saso’s team to relocate to the hotel.

Fellow golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Juvic Pagunsan will also stay at separate hotels near the venue.

There are 60 golfers from 36 nations competing.

The men’s contest is from July 29 to August 2, followed by the women’s division on August 4 to 7.

Mariano also bared that boxer Irish Magno hurt her right ankle while jumping rope on Monday, but coach Nolito Velasco immediately contained the injury.

“Nilagyan ko kaagad ng yelo at ‘nung tinignan ni Doc Randy [Molo, team doctor], ok na siya (I applied ice pack at once and when Dr. Randy Molo checked on it, she was okay),” Velasco said.

The other members of the 19-man Team Philippines are boxers Eumir Marcial, Carlo Paalam, and Nesthy Petecio; judoka Kiyomi Watanabe; gymnast Caloy Yulo; weightlifters Hidilyn Diaz and Elreen Ando; skateboarder Margielyn Didal; shooter Jayson Valdez; taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa; rower Cris Nievarez; and swimmers Luke Gebbie and Remedy Rule.

Marcial and Watanabe will be the flag-bearers. (PR)