Splash of optimism: Filipino athlete ‘proud’ despite ‘fail’ SEA Games dive
Yey! I’m so proud of us pakner John Fabriga, we really did our best despite of we just practiced this synchro dives for just 4 days, even though we failed to win, but atleast we did overcame what we once knew was out limit, and that makes us a champion <3 Thanks coach Brian Palattao for your endless support and immeasurable love to us from the preparation until the end of this competition, and special thanks to the people who’s doing their best to make this experience possible, I owe you all of this :) #SG2015 #SEA #Games #Singapore #Diving #Pilipinas
Posted by JD Pahoyo on Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Despite being a laughing stock of netizens after falling short in his dive, Filipino athlete John David Pahoyo on Thursday said he was still proud of donning the Philippine colors in the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.
In the comments section of their viral Facebook video, Pahoyo said he even laughed at himself after his performance, which received a score of zero for landing flat on his back.
“After all, this was not the first time I failed a dive, and I was not the first one who did so,” Pahoyo said in his comment, which garnered more than 3,000 likes as of posting.
WATCH: Filipino divers make ‘splash,’ land flat on their backs in SEAG performance
Pahoyo noted he was grateful for being able to represent the Philippines internationally, saying, “I am still proud because not all of us has the privilege to represent our country to such a big sporting event like this.”
“And by the way can I ask all of you if you can still smile after getting embarrassed in front of thousands of people? Hehe just asking, right? John Fabriga?” he added, tagging a fellow Filipino diver John Fabriga who also scored zero.
Saying that they practiced their synchronized dives for only four days, Pahoyo also shared a video of him and Fabriga on Facebook showing successful dives, with the caption: “Why share our failed dives when you can share the dives that we did well?”
“Even though we failed to win, at least we overcame what we once knew was our limit, and that makes us a champion,” he said.
Pahoyo thanked his supporters and his coach Brian Palattao for his SEA Games stint.
“Special thanks to the people who are doing their best to make this experience possible, I owe you all of this,” he said.
The Filipino divers’ viral Facebook video, which was posted by Singaporean page SGAG on Wednesday, has garnered more than 9,000 likes, 3,000 comments, and 1 million views as of writing. CFC
