4 Pinoys new Olympic scholars

POLE vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo, tennis ace AJ Lim and swimmer Ashley Yu have earned athletic scholarships from the Olympic Solidarity Movement of the International Olympic Committee.

Philippine Olympic Committee first vice president Joey Romasanta made the announcement yesterday as the number of Filipino scholar-athletes, whose training would be directly supported by the IOC, rose to 16.

Obiena is the country’s top pole vault campaigner while Yulo, a 15-year-old discovery from Leveriza, Pasay, won two gold medals in the Pacific Rim Championships in Washington.

“The idea is to help these athletes prepare for the Olympics,” said Romasanta, the country’s chief of mission to the Rio de Janeiro Games on Aug. 5 to 21. “If they cannot make it to Rio, they will be ready for Tokyo (in 2020).”

Lim is tipped to become the country’s No. 1 tennis player, while Yu is a University of Miami scholar who vied in the 2014 Youth Olympics.

They join Asian Games BMX cycling gold medalist Daniel Caluag, swimmers Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Khing Lacuna, taekwondo jins Kirstie Elaine Alora, Kristopher Robert Uy, Sam Morrison and Pauline Louise Lopez, boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno, shooter Hagen Topacio, golfer Claire Legaspi and canoeing’s Hermie Macaranas.