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Learn more about the Philippine Olympic Committee, its member organizations, and the athletes who represent the country in tournaments worldwide.
February 26, 2025
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February 26, 2025
Philippine men’s curling team celebrates after winning historic first ever Southeast Asia’s gold medal in winter games.
February 26, 2025
David Lappartient (left) and Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino (right)
February 7, 2025
Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino
Key appointments made in POC General Assembly - Tolentino
January 21, 2025
RICKY VARGAS was named chef de mission to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and Al Panlilio will handle the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games as the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) made key appointments during its first General Assembly for the year on Wednesday at the East Ocean Seafood Restaurant in Paranaque City. Also appointed, according to POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino were Rep. Richard Gomez for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Dr. Jose Raul Canlas for the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand and Stephen Arapoc for the Chengdu 2025 World Games. “The objective is to prepare our teams—and athletes—in earnest for the international competitions, that’s why the chefs de mission were appointed,” Tolentino said. “If we prepare early, there will be no excuses.” Richard Lim of karate is chef de mission to the Asian Winter Games in Harbin that starts February 7 to 14 while the a ched de mission has yet to be named for the Third Asian Youth Olympics Games from October 22 to 31 in Bahrain. Vargas is a former POC president and currently chairman of the boxing federation, Panlilio (basketball) and Gomez (modern pentathlon) are the incumbent first and second vice presidents, respectively, and Canlas (surfing) treasurer of the organization, while Arapoc heads the wushu association. The SEA Games will be played December 9 to 20 this year in Chonburi, Songkhla and Bangkok, and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are set February 6 to 22, Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from September 19 to October 4 in 2026. The Los Angeles Olympics are from July 14 to 30, 2028. Former football president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta was appointed as ethics committee chairman while Atty. Daniel Hofileña, a non-POC member, will head the arbitration committee. Tolentino said the POC General Assembly also approved the 2025 working budget of P35 million which is P8 million less than last year’s because of the Paris Olympics preparations and participation.  Tolentino and his secretary-general Atty. Wharton Chan also announced that the POC made a P15 million savings last year.
January 20, 2025
THE country is fielding a 20-athletes team to the ninth edition of the Asian Winter Games that China is hosting for the third time from February 7 to 14 in the winter resort city of Harbin. The mission? To start setting the stage for a first-ever Winter Olympics medal for the Philippines. “We’ve already accomplished the dream in the Summer Olympics—three gold medals in consecutive games,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino on New Year’s Day Wednesday. “And that dream we want to also achieve in the Winter Olympics.” There are no available accurate records as to how many Filipino winter sports athletes competed in the first eight editions of the Asian Winter Games, but Tolentino believed the team to Harbin should be the biggest thus far. “And our athletes are competing in six of the 11 sports on the Harbin program,” Tolentino said. Curling, now one of the most-watched winter sports discipline, will have the most number of athletes in Harbin with 10 athletes— Marc Angelo Pfister, Enrico Gabriel Pfister, Christian Patrick Haller, Alan Beat Frei, Jessica Pfister, Benjo Delarmente, Kathleen Dubberstein, Leilani Dubberstein, Sheila Mariano and Anne Marie Bonache. The Curling Winter Sports of the Philippines was established late last year to organize the discipline’s ranks with the new group joining Philippine Skating Union and Philippine Ski and Snowboarding Association in the POC roster. The other members of Team Philippines managed by chef de mission Richard Lim are Paolo Borromeo, Aleksandr Korovin, Cathryn Limketkai, Isabella Marie Gamez and Sofia Lexi Jacqueline Frank in figure skating; Francis Ceccarelli and Talullah Proulx in Alpine skiing; Laetaz Amihan Rabe in freestyle skiing; Peter Joseph Groseclose in short track speed skating and Adrian Tongco in snowboarding Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo won the Philippines’ first Summer Olympics gold medal in Tokyo 2020 and gymnast Carlos Yulo captured two gold medals in Paris 2024, both under Tolentino’s watch at the POC. “The Winter Olympics are as extremely tough as the Summer Olympics, but we have proven that it could be done,” Tolentino vowed. Italy will host the 25th edition of the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo from February 6 to 22 next year. Sixty-four events will be contested in Harbin, which was host in 1996, the second time after Changchun 2007 where China first organized the games.  Japan has been the dominant team in the games, followed by China and Kazakhstan.
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