‘PH athletes must shine to earn Rio wild cards’

FILIPINO athletes should at least come close to the minimum Olympic qualifying standard before they can hope to receive an invitation to compete in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Philippine Olympic Committee first vice president Joey Romasanta said an athlete’s chance of securing a universality place—also known as a wild-card berth—in the Olympics would still hinge on his or her performance during an Olympic qualifying tournament.
Only two Filipinos—Filipino-American hurdler Eric Cray and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz—have so far qualified for the Olympics and there are fears the stringent qualifying criteria could reduce the country’s participation in Rio de Janeiro to its slimmest in history.

“We cannot just appeal for the inclusion of our athletes if they don’t approximate the minimum standard in their sport,’’ said Romasanta, the country’s chief of mission to the Games.

The International Olympic Committee awards wild-card berths to countries whose athletes barely missed the Games requirements.

Romasanta began making the rounds yesterday of national sports associations (NSAs) who have athletes bidding to meet the minimum Olympic requirement.

He asked the NSAs to submit a list of athletes who they feel could qualify for Rio de Janeiro for accreditation purposes.

“The (Olympic) organizing committee said it’s still too early to apply for invitational places,” said Romasanta. “I say we should show interest and update (the athletes’) respective international federations regularly.”