PSC program for 2020 Olympics

THE PHILIPPINE Sports Commission is leaning toward the 2020 Olympics as the climax of its grassroots development program.

PSC chair Richie Garcia said athletes discovered in the Batang Pinoy and Palarong Pambansa would reach peak form  only in 2020 as the government sports agency, in tandem with the Philippine Olympic Committee, prepares a long-range platform to finally nail the country’s first Olympic gold medal.

Landing the elusive gold in this year’s London Games set July 27 to Aug. 12 seems out of the question with only six Filipino athletes from three sports qualifying so far.

“Another target is Rio (De Janeiro) but, I think, to produce a potential medalist from scratch, it will take at least six to seven years,” said Garcia.

Rio is the host of the 2016 Olympics but Garcia admits that priority athletes from the grassroots level wouldn’t be ripe yet by then.

“We call it ‘20-20 Vision,’” said Garcia. “Eight years from now, these athletes from the grassroots and Batang Pinoy will be ready.”

The PSC is also pursuing a short-term goal of giving priority to 148 athletes for next year’s Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar.