Team doc assures PH athletes in pink of health

Eumir Marcial and Kiyomi Watanabe carrying Philippine flag at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.

TOKYO—One of the most unforgettable reasons that an athlete has ever approached Dr. Randy Molo is gas.

“They complain about passing wind a lot, mostly because it’s from something they ate [at the Athletes’ Village mess hall],” he said on Friday.

There’s none of that problem here. After an issue over a member of the Philippines coaching staff testing positive for coronavirus, everything is now OK for Filipino athletes and officials here at the Tokyo Olympics.

“Everyone is healthy and we’ve had no issues so far,” said the delegation physician.

Molo is in charge of the day-to-day health and physical safety of the athletes. In an Olympics where, as Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino put it, competitors have to worry about their foe and a virus, Molo has to make sure that he keeps Team Philippines in the best of health.

He also accompanies athletes during drug testing after competition.

Molo said the delegation has been updated on the current banned substances list via a three-hour briefing, and everyone has been reminded about how to avoid COVID-19 infection and being tagged as a close contact of those who might test positive for the coronavirus.

“Wear your mask, maintain social distance. If you have to talk unmasked, do so for less than 15 minutes and never in an enclosed area,” he said.