The Philippine Olympic Committee prefers a much bigger athlete delegation in the 2016 Olympics than the Philippine representation in London three years ago.
POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. announced the local Olympic body’s all-out support for the national sports association to produce more qualifiers next year in Rio de Janeiro during a meeting with the NSAs Monday.
Two-time Olympian and flag-bearer Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting led an 11-athlete contingent to the 2012 London Summer Games while 15 athletes made it to the Beijing Olympics four years earlier.
“As much as possible, we want to increase the number of our athletes in the Olympics by 50 percent from the last Olympics,’’ said Cojuangco after sitting down with 23 NSAs to discuss the POC’s commitment in their quest for spots in Rio.
Right now, only Southeast Asian Games double-gold medalist Eric Cray has grabbed a seat to the Olympics after meeting the standard in the 400m hurdles in the Cayman Invite last May.