Golden Girl Mikee still has it

MIKEE Cojuangco-Jaworski still has that smile that puts people at ease quickly. It was the same glow you saw almost two decades ago when she was atop horses, just after she won the Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games equestrian gold medals.

And she has that astute mind that knows what is afoot in Philippine sports, regardless of whether many folks want to sidestep her insights simply because she’s a daughter of Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr.

Jaworski was the resource person for sports for the quarterly membership meeting of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines at Richmonde Hotel last Friday. Former PTV correspondent Toby Nebrida invited me to moderate the open forum and introduce the reactions of PR practitioners Jones Campos and Teddy Pereña who have managed sports projects.

Now a parent of three kids with husband Dodot, Jaworski remains in sports as the International Olympic Committee’s representative to the Philippines. She has been travelling a lot, helping to oversee preparations for the upcoming Olympiad as well as serving on different committees like Women in Sport. Her current playing field is clearly the world but she remains committed to home concerns like Anak TV and Gawad Kalinga.

Jaworski pitched for more sports projects to the country’s communicators who do have a say in selecting vehicles for corporate support.

“Our youth are our medals,” she said. “Shouldn’t we shine them?”

It is clear that coming from a background where sports played an active role, she knows the value of youth participation at any level. And this works better if there is corporate support to back up sports endeavors.

Jaworski shared that, contrary to popular opinion, she did not have it easy in equestrian.

She candidly admitted that her brief dabble in show business helped finance her riding career. Equestrian is clearly an expensive sport with horses to maintain and tournaments happening overseas. But it was clear that she was committed to it and resulted in sterling accomplishments.

She considered her gold in the 2002 Busan Asian Games as her most fulfilling win. It was a triumph against strong competition and in a tournament where most sneered at her horse that seemed out of place among handsomer counterparts.

“The other riders couldn’t believe I was using such a small horse.” Jaworski recalled with a laugh. “They were even saying, ‘Is that horse competing?’”

Her victory proved that the sport was won through a partnership of horse and rider and not simply by one part alone.

Jaworski also said that she expresses what she feels about sports to her father and it has been a lively discussion.  It is clear that Jaworski is her own woman, just as she has proven with her sports triumphs, her current involvement with the Olympic movement and her chosen advocacies.

Our country yearns for a new generation of sports heroes that we can fondly call by their first names. Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski is definitely one of them and she is simply Mikee to all she meets.