PH athletes to train in UK ahead of Olympics

FOUR athletes will go through the final and most crucial stretch of their preparations for the London Olympics in a training camp set to begin at the end of the month.

Philippine chef de mission Manny Lopez said boxer Mark Anthony Barriga, skeet shooter Brian Rosario and swimmers Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Khing Lacuna will leave for London on June 29 for the camp.

Organized by the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog), the pre-Olympics camp allows athletes to mingle and train with fellow Olympians, simulating the real competition in the July 27 to Aug. 12 Summer Games.

“We need to bring our athletes there to remove the fear and anxiety of competing in a big stage,” said Lopez, also the first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Long-jumper Marestella Torres, who also donned the national colors in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Rene Herrera, a five-time Southeast Asian Games steeplechase champion, will follow the four athletes in a separate pre-Games camp a week later.

Lopez said judoka Tomohiko Hoshina will train in Tokyo and leave for London on July 19 while arrangements are still being made for BMX rider Daniel Caluag.

According to Lopez, they tried to bring Caluag to Chula Vista, California, a top training destination for BMX cycling, but was barred from practicing in the world-caliber course alongside members of the United States team.

He said Caluag, the four-time BMX No. 1 pro in the US, would be sent to another camp in the Netherlands before proceeding to London.

From among the eight Olympic-bound athletes, Caluag has the brightest chance of nailing a medal, pundits say.

The 25-year-old Filipino-American was the first BMX pro to capture the AA pro and pro cruiser titles in the US back in 2007 and has had several impressive performances in past Union Cycliste Internationale races.