Joanie Delgaco knows tough task ahead in Paris Olympics

PH rower Joanie Delgaco is headed to the Paris Olympics. –JUNE NAVARRO/INQUIRER

Rower Joanie Delgaco believes that winning a medal in the Paris Olympics is a formidable task. But that doesn’t mean she won’t try to.

“Every athlete wants to stand on the medal podium. I’ll certainly do my best and give myself a chance,’’ Delgaco told the Inquirer in Filipino.

Ranked No. 23 in the world, the 26-year-old from Iriga City is trying to improve her clocking in time for the qualifying heats of the women’s 2000-meter single sculls at National Olympic Nautical Stadium on July 27.

READ: PH rower Joanie Delgaco qualifies for Paris Olympics

“If I’m not fortunate enough to medal, I’ll pursue my next goal of improving my world rankings,’’ said Delgaco, an Asian championships gold medalist.

Delgaco’s best time in the event is seven minutes and 39 seconds, good enough to get past the heats for a semifinal appearance.

Time to beat

A podium performance would mean clocking at least 7:19 in the finals where New Zealand’s Emma Twigg (7:13.97) is the defending champion.

“It would be a great accomplishment for me if I could row faster than my personal best in the Olympics,’’ said Delgaco, the first Filipino woman rower in the global quadrennial Summer Games.

Reaching the Olympics wasn’t only an achievement for Delgaco, who made the national training pool as an 18-year-old.

READ: Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio to carry PH flag in Paris Olympics

Making it to Paris erases all the pains of past failures to make the Olympics grade.

“This is my third attempt (to qualify for the Olympics) and I finally made it,’’ said Delgaco, who missed the Tokyo Olympic berth by one second and also had a failed bid for the 2016 edition in Rio De Janeiro.

She joined eight other Filipino Olympians who left Saturday for a monthlong training camp at La Moselle and Les Arenes in Metz, France, where she and the others enter the final stretch of their preparations.