The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Robert Andaya
As the whole nation celebrates National Heroes Day on August 26, The Market Monitor takes look at the five Filipino athletes whose bravery and heroism in the recent 2024 Paris Olympics make us proud to be Filipinos.
No less than the country’s No.1 sportsman, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and the country’s top sports officials — Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann—lead the celebration honoring the country’s leading Olympic achievers at the Malacañang Palace in Manila.
All 22 Filipino athletes who represented the country in the Olympics also received financial rewards from the country’s chief executive.
These modern-day heroes are:
1. Gymnast Carlos Yulo
Two-time Paris Olympics gold medalist Carlos Yulo easily topped the list as he made history by bringing home two gold medals in gymnastics and becoming the most successful Filipino athlete since the country started to participate in the Olympics in 1924.
Yulo put his name on the history books by capturing the gold medal in the men’s floor exercise and the men’s vault to the delight of an adoring nation forever in search for heroes.
The 24-year-old pride of Leveriza, Manila submitted 15.000 points on his near-perfect routine, anchored on 6.600 for difficulty and 8.400 for execution, to become the first-ever Filipino gymnast to ever reach the podium in any edition of world’s biggest competition.
Yulo then scored 15.116 from the average of the two vault routines. His first vault performance was the difference maker, with a score of 15.433. He then followed it up with a solid 14.800 to clinch the victory.
2. Boxer Nesthy Petecio
Only four Filipino athletes in the long and colorful history of the Olympics have won multiple medals.
One of them is boxer Nesthy Petecio, who bagged the bronze medal in the women’s boxing competitions.
This is Petecio’s second Olympic medal after she won silver at Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021), after a hard-fought bout with the Polish fighter.
Although beaten, the 32-year-old’s bronze earns the Philippines their fourth medal of Paris 2024 and their second in boxing after compatriot Aira Villegas took bronze the day before.
3. Boxer Aira Villegas
Villegas, the 29-year-old pride of Tacloban City, wrapped up her Paris Olympics campaign with a bronze after a unanimous decision setback to Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the women’s 50kg semifinals at the Roland Garros Stadium,.
Her opponent, Cakiroglu, earned the judges’ nod, garnering the scores 30-27, 30-26, 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26.
The 29-year-old Villegas is coming off a tight 3-2 victory over French bet Wassila Lkhadiri of France in the quarterfinals, which guaranteed her of at least a bronze medal
Still, it was a dream come true for Villegas
4. Pole vaulter EJ Obiena
Although landing fourth overall and failing to win a medal in his second straight Olympics,Obiena earned a lot of admiration following his heroic efforts in Paris.
Obiena’s fourth-place finish in Paris was also a vast improvement from his 12th-place windup in Tokyo four years ago.
Obiena finished fourth in the pole vault finals as he cleared 5.90 meters, which was also the same height cleared by Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis who claimed the bronze medal.
Obiena, however, fell short of the medal as the Greek bet had less attempts in the first four heights.
“I am proud of what I was actually able to stitch together for this Olympics, with all the struggles that came with this year; but still it hurts to be this close to an Olympic Medal,” said the 28-year-old pride of Tondo, Manila.
5. Golfer Bianca Pagdanganan
Pagdanganan missed out on a historic medal for the Philippines as she finished in a share of fourth place in the women’s golf competition at the Le Golf National
A brilliant 4-under 68 in the fourth and final round propelled the 26-year-old Pagdanganan to medal contention with 282 total, but she missed the podium by a shot on a pressure-packed day that saw Lydia Ko of New Zealand capture the elusive gold medal.
Still, the Quezon City-born Pagdanganan netted the highest ranking by a Filipino golfer in the Olympics. She eclipsed the ninth-place finish of former teammate Yuka Saso in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Pagdanganan also did better than her Olympic debut in Tokyo, where she wound up at joint 43rd.
Although not as fortunate as Yulo and the two other medalists in Paris, the rest of the 22-man Filipino delegation deserve the country’s gratitude for doing a good job in their respective sports.
To the eyes of most Filipinos, they are all now heroes.