PSI lauds its two Olympians hoping to make waves in the international scene
Miggy Dumlao • July 22, 2021
The Philippines will be sending 19 athletes to Tokyo 2020 and among them are Remedy Rule and Luke Gebbie, swimmers hoping to bring glory to the nation. The two are not only there to make the country proud but also to bring more attention to the growth of Philippine swimming.
Gebbie and Rule qualified via the universality rule wherein one male and one female athlete can qualify indirectly to the Olympics by virtue of having the highest number of Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) points within their region. The points are based on the times posted by the athletes during the qualification process.
The University of Texas student and Filipina - American Rule accumulated 830 points by posting times of 2 minutes, 9 seconds and 58 milliseconds and 2 minutes and 35 milliseconds in the women’s 200 meter butterfly and women’s 200 meter freestyle respectively. While these are the times that earned her a spot in Tokyo, Rule will compete in the 100m freestyle event.
Gebbie, a Fil - Kiwi, garnered 828 points and will compete in the men’s 100m freestyle event, which he qualified for by having a seed time of 49.94 seconds. He achieved this time during the 2019 FINA World Championships. Also included in his 828 points is his time of 22.57 seconds in the 50m freestyle.
While Gebbie and Rule are the two who ultimately entered via universality rule, it speaks to the strength of Philippine swimming that four tankers were in contention to get into the Olympics at one point during the Olympic qualifying process.
Philippine Swimming Incorporated (PSI) President Lani Velasco was excited about how the strength of the Philippine’s swimmers is compared to the rest of the world.
“Since the implementation of the "A" Time" and "B" Time qualifying standards, it has given us a measure of how our swimmers are doing compared to the rest of the world. Having four swimmers getting close to the "A" Time is a milestone for us”, she said.
Rule and Gebbie are well equipped to fly the banner of Philippine swimming as they have been training hard even amidst the cloud of the Covid-19 pandemic making it more difficult to train and compete. They have been disciplined in their training and the PSI has been creative and helpful when it comes to giving them all the support they need in order to compete in the Olympics.
While giving support to the athletes who had a chance to qualify for the Olympics has been the primary focus for PSI, it has not been stagnant in helping the Philippines grow as a relevant swimming force in the world. Just recently, the PSI welcomed the Israeli Olympic delegation of swimmers to train and compete with Filipino tankers.
While swimming is in a good place now in the country, the PSI is not resting on its laurels with future projects geared towards the goal of sending even more swimmers to the Olympics in the future.
“The results of the 2019 SEA Games definitely showed us that we are improving. We want to keep the momentum by participating in more international competitions, providing our coaches and officials the necessary education, and hosting national and international events.”,
Velasco said.
“Our goal is to get more swimmers to the Olympics. For that to happen, we need swimmers achieving "A" times. The presence of the Israel team here has given us some motivation and an idea of how to get there. We're very excited about the future of the sport here in the Philippines”, she added.
The 19 Olympians of the Philippines are from different sports each with their own chances of achieving the elusive gold medal for the country and Velasco shares in the excitement of every Filipino.
“I think the Philippines, in general, is at a point where the elusive gold medal may finally be achieved. To be part of this era is a one of a kind experience.”, she said.
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Aira Villegas (left), Fr. Eugenio Lopez, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Carlos Yulo, and Nesthy Petecio
PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (third from left) with (from left) coaches Jessica Pfister and Miguel Gutierrez,, Marc Pfister, Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller and Curling Pilipinas playing president Benjo Delarmente.
Philippine men’s curling team celebrates after winning historic first ever Southeast Asia’s gold medal in winter games.
David Lappartient (left) and Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino (right)
Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino
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.
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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Ernest John "EJ" Obiena gave the whole nation hope as he claimed the first gold medal for the Philippines in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Obiena's remarkable journey unfolded at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, where he dazzled with a record-smashing performance in the pole vault finals. The anticipation was palpable as Obiena soared to an astonishing 5.75 meters, leaving his competitors in awe. Yet, he wasn't done there. In a breathtaking display, he shattered the Asian Games record of 5.7 meters and secured the gold with a spectacular 5.9-meter leap, igniting celebrations among Filipino supporters in the stands, including Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Bambol Tolentino, Chef de Mission Richard Gomez, and athletics' chief Terry Capistrano. In a heartwarming gesture, Obiena attempted to break his own Asian record of 6 meters, aiming to gift his coach, Vitaly Petrov, a fitting birthday present. Though he narrowly missed this feat, his outstanding achievement marked a historic moment for Philippine athletics. This victory was the Philippines' first gold medal in athletics in 37 years since Lydia de Vega's 100-meter triumph at the Seoul Asiad. It also represented the first athletics medal in 29 years, dating back to Elma Muros' bronze in the long jump at the 1994 Hiroshima Games. Obiena's remarkable journey has made him a superstar and a source of inspiration for his fellow athletes. His training partners, including China's Huang Bokai and Saudi Arabia's Hussain al Hizam, acknowledged his immense contributions to their progress and expressed their desire to challenge him in the future. Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Bambol Tolentino summed up the nation's sentiments, stating, "EJ never ceases to amaze us." Obiena's extraordinary achievement in pole vaulting has left an indelible mark on Asian Games history, and his gold medal is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of an athlete who has truly reached the sky's limit.
