The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Peter Paul Patrick Lucas
The Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) will set up a training camp in Nagasaki, Japan, at least three months before the Summer Games in Tokyo in 2020 in a bid to capture the country’s first Olympic gold medal.
Patafa President Philip Ella Juico said national athletes were invited by Japanese entrepreneur Katsutoshi Shimizu to train at the Nagasaki Athletics Stadium in Isahaya, Nagasaki, as part of their Olympic buildup.
A frequent Manila visitor who is into shipping and food-service businesses, Shimizu said he would sponsor the training program, provided that Patafa will shoulder the airfare and board and lodging of Filipino athletes who would qualify for the Olympics.
Juico said he is optimistic that at least six athletes will make it to the Olympics, bannered by pole-vault specialist EJ Obiena and Filipino-American hurdler Eric Cray.
“It was a very good offer. I’m thanking Mr. Shimizu for his kind gesture of giving our athletes access to a world-class training facility,” said the former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman, adding that the strong Filipino community in Nagasaki makes the three-month training less stressful for local athletes.
“There’s a very strong Filipino community there. All of them are Catholic, since San Lorenzo Ruiz died there. So I think it will be easier for our athletes to adjust,” he said.
Juico added that Japan would serve as the focal point of Olympic qualifying events, making it an attractive training destination for nearby countries like South Korea, Taiwan, and China.
In fact, the Vietnamese track-and-field team is already booked in Nagasaki for a two-week training leading to the 2020 Olympics.
“That’s how aggressive the Vietnamese are,” Juico said. “They are really serious in their buildup, so we might as well match their intensity with a good training of our own.”
“I think being in Japan three months before the Olympics is already a major advantage,” he added.
Aside from Obiena and Cray, other local athletes tipped to qualify in the Olympics are Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Kayla Richardson; the relay team of Cray, Trenten Beram, Anfernee Lopena and Jomar Udtohan; and triple jumper Mark Harry Diones.