Strong Rio chance for Olympic scholars

FILIPINO Olympic scholars Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Khing Lacuna enjoy a strong chance of getting invited to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next year.

“They have a strong chance of making it to the Olympics as long as they perform well in their respective qualifying tournaments,” said Joey Romasanta, the first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, who arrived Tuesday night from Rio de Janeiro where he attended the chiefs of mission meeting organized by the International Olympic Committee.

BMX rider Daniel Caluag, who won the country’s lone gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games, heads the cast of Filipino scholars from various sports whose preparations for the Games are being monitored by the IOC.

Also on the list are taekwondo-jins John Paul Lizardo, Kirstie Elaine Alora, Kristopher Robert Uy and Christian dela Cruz, as well as boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno, golfers Clare Legaspi and Princess Superal, shooters Amparo Acuña and Hagen Topacio and canoeing’s Hermie Macaranas.

According to Romasanta, the IOC is aware of the difficulty of qualifying for the Summer Games and the body is willing to help these scholars achieve their Olympic dreams.

“The IOC has divided the world into regions and provided a certain quota for representation purposes,” said Romasanta, the country’s Olympic chief of mission. “They simply want maximum representation from these regions.”

He said Alkhaldi and Lacuna boosted their stock for spots in the Olympics after performing creditably in the recent Fina World Championship in Kazan, Russia.

Romasanta said the deadline for the universality spot or “wild-card slot” is on July 11 next year.

The POC said as many as 15 Filipino athletes could make the grade for the Olympics.