Filipino athletes will be training more at home this time than go overseas to prepare for international events.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. announced yesterday that this new emphasis in the athletes’ buildup will start with this year’s Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Cojuangco said the POC has hired an Australian conditioning expert who will be tasked to whip up the national athletes in shape until the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. He added that the Australian will arrive next month to supervise the 180 athletes undergoing strength and conditioning testing for the SEA Games.
“I’ve seen athletes return from overseas training and the results weren’t impressive. As much as possible, we want to train our athletes here,” said Cojuangco during yesterday’s POC general assembly.
The local Olympic boss noted that the gains from overseas exposures are wasted as athletes usually slide back to their old ways.
The cost of sending athletes to other countries isn’t really a huge concern since the Philippine Sports Commission has earmarked P400 million this year for foreign training.