Philippines’ Carlos Edriel Yulo poses with gold medal on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men’s Floor event after the apparatus finals at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on October 12, 2019. (Photo by Thomas KIENZLE / AFP)
Buoyed by the consecutive success of Filipino athletes in the international front, the Philippine Sports Commission is preparing a war chest of P50 million for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Thanks to the feats of Carlos Yulo of gymnastics and lady boxer Nesthy Petecio, these world champions have brought hope that the elusive gold medal in the Olympics will finally be won in Tokyo 2020.
“We will be all-out in financially supporting our Olympic-bound athletes,” said PSC Chairman Butch Ramirez on Monday during a press briefing at Rizal Memorial Sports Center.
The 19-year-old Yulo became the latest toast in Philippine sports for a historic feat of winning the floor exercise event in the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
Petecio, on the other hand, clinched the gold medal in the 2019 Aiba Women’s Boxing World Championships after beating Liudmila Vorontsove on her turf in Ulan-Ude, Russia.
These heroes, plus pole vaulter EJ Obiena, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and skateboarder Margielyn Didal, are considered by the PSC as top prospects to end the country’s gold-medal drought.
“We will provide them with everything that they need to win a medal in the Olympics. If they can’t win the gold in Tokyo, we will continue helping them to become better in Paris (2024) and Los Angeles (2028),” said Ramirez.
He noted that it took Diaz three Olympic cycles before seizing the silver medal in the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics.
To motivate them further, both Yulo and Petecio will receive P1 million each for their achievements.
Yulo got P500,000 for his gold medal in Germany, a world-level qualifier that booked him an Olympic ticket and join Obiena in Tokyo.
The PSC added P500,000 more as monetary reward for setting a historic mark as the first Filipino world champion in the sport.
“If not for the PSC, Caloy won’t be a world champion. Our family is really grateful for the support of the PSC,” said Angelica Yulo, Caloy’s mother.
Boxer Eumir Marcial likewise received a bonus from the government worth P500,000 for a silver medal in the recent Aiba World Boxing Championships in Ekatirinburg, Sverdlosk Oblast, Russia.