Gov’t OKs training bubble for Tokyo Olympics qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines — Athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics next year are now allowed to train under a “bubble” set-up.

This is after the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved the Philippine Olympic Committee’s proposal to allow national athletes to undergo training amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ang pag-conduct ng bubble type setting ay gagawin sa pakikipag-ugnayan sa regional task force kung saan gagawin ang training at lokal na pamahalaan kung saan nandoon ang proposed venue,” Malacañang and IATF spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday in a televised press briefing.

(The bubble-type setting will be carried out in coordination with the regional task force where the training sessions will be held and the local government unit where the training venue is located.)

Four Filipino athletes have so far qualified for Tokyo Olympics, namely, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo, and boxers Eurmir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno.

Eumir Marcial in the Asia/Oceania boxing Olympic qualifiers. ABAP PHOTO

Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena competes in the men’s pole vault event during the Diamond League Athletics Meeting at The Louis II Stadium in Monaco on August 14, 2020. (Photo by Valery HACHE / POOL / AFP)

Irish Magno became the first Filipino boxer to make it to the 2020 Games.

More Olympic qualifying tournaments are expected to take place early next year.

READ: Training bubble for Filipino athletes in Tokyo, why not?