TUBOD, LANAO DEL NORTE—The Mindanao qualifying games of the 3rd Philippine Olympic Festival starts Thursday with 12 gold medals up for grabs in athletics at the Mindanao Civic Center.

Aside from athletics, which gets going with the boys’ 5,000 meters, competitions in archery, arnis, badminton, baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, sepak takraw, softball and table tennis likewise unfurl in different venues here.

Of the 2,174 athletes competing in 20 sports, 424 will represent Misamis Oriental. Zamboanga City, the reigning overall Mindanao qualifying champion, has 250 athletes while 2007 host Cagayan De Oro City has brought 183 to this municipality, which played host to the 2004 Palarong Pambansa.

Philippine Olympic Committee and POF chair Robert Aventajado led the guests during the opening ceremony. Also present were Commissioner Eric Loretizo of the Philippine Sports Commission, Lanao Del Norte Rep. Abdullah Dimaporo and several high-ranking provincial officials.

The other athletics’ final events are the boys’ 110m hurdles, 800m run, triple jump, 100m dash, shot put and girls’ 3000m, discus throw, long jump, 100m dash, 800m and 100m hurdles.

Four archery golds are also at stake for the day.

The top performers here will join the medalists of the other qualifying games in Central-Northern Luzon, Visayas, Southern Tagalog-Bicol and National Capital Region in the national championships set at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in October.

Aventajado said they would select the best and the brightest athletes in the national championships to join the national pool and hopefully clinch a slot to the 2012 London Olympics.

Davao Del Norte, a rising sports power in Mindanao, entered 156 athletes while General Santos City, last year’s runner-up, registered 128 players. Iligan City, the center of trade in the province, has 110 athletes.

The week-long event is sponsored by Globe, Accel, Pagcor, Ama Computer College, Negros Navigation, Summit Mineral Water and Creativity Lounge.