POC wants Pacman way for athletes
MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine Olympic Committee believes the formula for success of boxing’s pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao can be applied to the national athletes.
POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco yesterday said he would ask the Filipino ring superstar to loan his conditioning coach or nutritionist so they could provide a strict dietary regimen for the national team.
Pacquiao, who left Monday night for the United States to kick off the promotional tour for his November fight against Mexican Antonio Margarito, has Columbian Alex Ariza as conditioning coach and American Teri Tom as nutritionist.
“I’ll try to get in touch with Manny,” said Cojuangco. “He could probably provide some names who could help our athletes in terms of conditioning and nutrition.”
Ariza was credited for improving Pacquiao’s physical conditioning while Tom, who earned a Master’s degree in nutrition science at California State University-Los Angeles, has been taking care of the Filipino champion’s diet.
The partnership of Ariza and Tom was forged during Pacquiao’s triumphant fight against Oscar Dela Hoya in 2008.
“We could ask Manny to provide us direction through the help of these experts,” said Cojuangco. “This is a big step forward for the performance of our athletes in future [competitions].”
The local Olympic body has made athletes’ nutrition as a priority with Cojuangco taking the lead in urging the Philippine Sports Commission to finance a proposed dietary program.
Cojuangco said the program should be implemented soon since the Asian Games in Guangzhou is just two months away.
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