Shooter Valdez sets sights on Olympic gold

Shooting protégé Jayson Valdez recently shattered the 10-year-old men’s air rifle record of veteran campaigner Emerito Concepcion to become, at only 15, the country’s brightest hope to win that elusive Olympic gold medal.
The son of Julius Valdez, a battle-tested marksman and three-time gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games (1987 Jakarta), shot a remarkable 595 points to beat Concepcion’s previous record of 594 during the recent National Open Shooting Championships.
“He’s phenomenal as a shooter,” beamed Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla, perennial rapid fire pistol champion and the man behind the Philippine National Shooting Association’s National Youth Development Program.
“Jayson and the other kids are the future of shooting,” said Padilla, 47-year-old general manager of the family-owned Spring Cooking Oil. “We have to take advantage of having a product as talented as Jayson. He needs exposure and he must get it.”
A son of two-time Olympian (1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal) Mariano “Tom” Ong, Tac predicts a good future for the nation’s shooters under the aegis of the new PNSA leadership headed by noted sportsman-businessman Mike Romero.
The most consistent Filipino athlete in so far as local and international shooting competitions are concerned, Padilla is making a record 17th appearance in the coming SEA Games. He entered the shooting scene in grand style when, at age 11, he topped a prestigious world tournament in Mexico City.
To make the 2012 Olympics, the young Valdez must first compile enough points in several qualifying series that lead to the London Games. Jayson’s newest record has already earned him a slot in the Philippine team going to the SEA Games set Nov. 11-22 in Indonesia (where he is expected to figure prominently in the medal race).
Although Jayson is already a National Open champion and a record-breaker at that, Padilla wants the rising shooting star to be upgraded from the developmental pool to the national team pool where he would be getting a bigger but well-deserved allowance. “Kawawa naman ‘yung bata, (I pity the boy),” Tac said.
A virtual newcomer, Jayson started his passion for the sport only two years ago. His first love was taekwondo, but his old man, Julius, and discoverer Tac, convinced him to shift to shooting, a sport which runs in the family.
Jayson is the latest member of a family with a strong tradition in marksmanship, which requires a sharp eye, a steady hand and nerves.
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In the 1950s, shooting enjoyed its golden age. During the Asian Games in May, 1954, Filipino marksmen accounted for four of the 15 golds captured by the country. The 15-gold medal haul was the most for the country since 1951 when the quadrennial meet was launched in New Delhi.
The shooters who won golds in that 1954 Asiad were Adolfo “Chito” Feliciano, small bore rifle, 3- position; Albert Einsiedel, small bore rifle, prone; Martin Gison, rapid fire pistol; and Hernando Castelo, free pistol. The Philippines sent a two-man shooting team when the country made its debut during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The PH shooters were Otoniel Gonzaga and Gison, who both participated in the mini rifle 50-meter ring and target pistol 50m ring categories.
Gison also competed in succeeding Olympic Games (1948 London, 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne and 1964 Tokyo), becoming the only Filipino to appear in five consecutive Olympics. Sweden’s Ragnar Skanaker holds the all-time record with seven straight Olympics during the Atlanta Centennial Games in 1996.
In Helsinki, the great Gison was joined by Cesar Jayme and Felix Cortes. However, they returned empty-handed.