PH Olympians doing well in London

LONDON—The seven Filipino athletes deep in training ahead of the 30th Olympic Games plunged into the second week of the camp on Monday at three world-class venues here.

Team Philippines administrative officer Arsenic Lacson said practically everything went smoothly in the first week of the three-week buildup, where Filipino athletes trained side by side with Olympians from the host nation and several other countries.

“They’re doing well and extremely happy to have availed themselves of the camp,” said Lacson after a visit to one of the elite training sites.

The first two PH athletes who got a taste of what it was like to train alongside Olympians from Britain, Singapore and Estonia at the Surrey Sports Park were Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Khing Lacuna, who will see action in the 100-m freestyle and 200-m free, respectively.

“It’s really a good opportunity to train with them,” said swimming coach Carlos Brosas.

Over at the centuries-old Churchill shooting range inside the vast West Wycombe estate, skeet shooter Paul Brian Rosario ended the initial week getting good, kind words from coach Gay Corral and shooting sports psychologist Lesley Goddard.

“He now shoots with deliberation and has learned stress relieving techniques,” said Corral.

Pleased with the positive results of the camp, PH team chief of mission Manny Lopez said he’s confident that the experience gained from joining the camp “will serve our athletes in good stead when the battles begin”.

The other Filipinos  training here are boxer Mark Anthony Barriga, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, long jumper Marestella Torres and 5,000-m bet Rene Herrera,  accompanied by coaches Roel Velasco (boxing), Tony Agustin (weighlifting) and Joseph Sy (track and field).