Shooter Celdon Arellano and trackster Zion Rose Nelson have booked tickets to the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, from Aug. 14 to 28.
Philippine Olympic Committee chair Tom Carrasco confirmed the inclusion of Arellano, who holds promise in the men’s 10-meter air rifle event, and the Filipino-Canadian Nelson, a sprinter who performs best in the 400m.
Carrasco said Arellano beat today’s deadline for the Philippine National Shooting Association to submit a name under the universality scheme required by the International Olympic Committee.
Arellano, who saw action in the 2013 Asian Youth Games, achieved the minimum qualifying score of 584 points in his pet event. He achieved the result in the twin legs of the world shootfest in Germany and China recently.
They join archers Luis Gabriel Moreno and Bianca Cristina Gotuaco, triathlete Vicky Deldio, gymnast Ava Loren Verdeflor and swimmer Roxanne Yu in the quadrennial Games for athletes 18 years old and younger.
Also making a bid for a slot in the YOG is the 3-on-3 basketball team of Amando San Juan II, Manuel Mosqueda III, John Paul Cauilan and Kobe Paras.
Philippine chef de mission Jonne Go said the qualifiers are now part of the Olympic Solidarity program where they will receive $500 a month in training allowances.
Go, president of the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation, is hoping for a medal finish after a nine-athlete Philippine delegation returned empty-handed in the 2010 YOG in Singapore.