The Philippines has a growing list of qualified athletes athletes for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Bambol Tolentino scribbled in his notebook the list of Filipino athletes who could possibly join the country’s delegation to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The local Olympic chief found out that several hopefuls could still make it, more than his projected expectation.
“I wrote down 25 athletes from various sports. But it seems, that number is bound to increase going into the final stretch of [Olympic] qualifications,” Tolentino told the Inquirer during yesterday’s POC General Assembly at the East Ocean restaurant in Parañaque City.
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According to Tolentino, golf and cycling could possibly bring three each to the glamorous French capital while weightlifting, gymnastics, judo and skateboarding have one athlete who could qualify.
Apart from the 12 who are already prepping up for the global quadrennial Summer Games in July, a total of 22 more could be added to the roster by Tolentino’s reckoning.
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By May 24, weightlifter Rosegie Ramos will know if she’ll be taken in by the International Weightlifting Federation while golfers Bianca Pagdanganan, Miguel Tabuena and Dottie Ardina should stay inside the Top 60 before the Olympic qualification window closes.
Paris Olympic ratings prior to the June 30 deadline are equally crucial for judoka and 2020 Tokyo Olympian Kiyomi Watanabe as well as for tracksters John Cabang Tolentino, Lauren Hoffman, Eric Cray, Robin Brown, Kristina Knot and long jumper Janry Ubas.
“There are at least 22 more athletes who are making the Olympic bid. I’m confident we can surpass the delegation that we had in [the] Tokyo [Summer Games],” said Tolentino, the Tagaytay City Mayor.