Website of Filipino Olympians launched

The achievements of Filipino athletes who represented the country in the Olympics are now enshrined in digital form through a website.

The Philippine Olympians Association (POA) recently launched “The Living Archive of Olympians PH” website – www.philippineolympians.org – to immortalize the feats of all Filipino Olympians, past and present, recounting their journeys to the world’s biggest and most prestigious sports gathering.

POA president Akiko Thomson-Guevara said the website includes a database of all Filipino Olympians that can be searched alphabetically or by sport since the Philippines competed in the 1924 Paris Olympics.

“It’s a legacy project of the POA. We believe stories are powerful. But if they are not documented, not shared, these stories will be forgotten. By collating it and making it accessible to all, we will inspire future generation of Olympians,” said Thomson-Guevara, a swimmer who competed in three Olympics.

It will likewise include an archive of medalists, featured Olympians, the POA newsletter, general information, vision, purpose, board of directors, and the association’s affiliation with the World Olympians Association.

Today, there are 432 Filipino Olympians who saw action in both the Summer Games and the Winter Olympics (four athletes). The list already includes the 19 athletes from 11 sports who will compete in the upcoming Tokyo Games.

The project was supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee.

“This is being done to establish greater awareness of our people that we have athletes who have gone to the Olympics. We stand in support of this project together with Milo Philippines, the most fitting partner in this endeavor,” said POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino during the recent Olympic Day Celebration.

According to Thomson-Guevara, the POA reached out to the Olympics Studies Center for the website’s existing database and would be updated as new Olympians and medalists come in.

“It’s a work in progress. Researchers had a hard time finding pictures of our Olympians and for some of our Olympians, the data is very sparse. We hope that as our website is viewed and shared, this will reach the relatives of Olympians who will help us with the information that we don’t have,” said Thomson-Guevara.