The elusive gold

ONE can win races and break world records, but an Olympic gold medal is still the biggest feat an athlete can accomplish. To conquer the Olympics is every athlete’s dream.
The Olympic dream has remained a dream for the Philippines since Onyok Velasco’s performance fell short of a gold medal finish in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Looking at its recent international outing, the country’s talent pool is perhaps gearing towards lackluster campaign — this time in a much bigger stage—the 2012 London Olympics.
With just 36 gold medals (out of 245 disputed from 520 athletes) in the 26th Southeast Asian Games last year, the country’s performance has lagged behind, since winning the overall title with 113 gold when the country hosted SEA Games in 2005.
This was a strong sign that an overhaul(both in leadership and talent pool), must be applied immediately.
During the opening of the Palarong Pambansa on May 7, President Benigno Aquino III laid out his administration’s road map for local athletes, to prepare them to the international sports arena with the right training and equipment.
The road map guided by a “focused policy,” will center on a select set of sports like boxing, taekwondo, athletics, swimming, wushu, archery, wrestling, bowling, weightlifting and billiards.
With P200 million allotted to implement the 2011-2016 Philippine Sports Road Map, the government also set aside P200 million to mark this year’s Palarong Pambansa.
The Palarong Pambansa is a scholastic athletic competition that serves as a means to promote Physical Education and Sports as an integral part of the Basic Education Curriculum.
It is also an affirmation to the school’s commitment to the full development of the great potentials of the youth to become responsible and globally competitive citizens of the nation.
In the past six decades, the Palarong Pamabansa has served as a training ground for Filipino athletes, allowing them to eventually join the national team and represent the country in international meets such as SEA Games, Asian Games and the Olympic Games.
The Palarong Pambansa has never failed to produce notable athletes in different fields of sports. This year, Palaro will showcase a new roster of talents that may soon follow the tracks of legendary Filipino athletes.
“You didn’t wake up as champions, but you gave time and effort to become what you are. Your sacrifices will pay off as you perform on a bigger stage and take on the challenges in life,” said Pres. Aquino in Filipino.
Earlier this year, Vice President Jejomar Binay called for grass-roots development, through the cooperation of national sports associations to increase with private sectors. Binay said the country may find its next champions through aggressive development of athletes in the grass-roots level.
“Many events such as boxing, taekwondo and basketball enjoy staunch support from top firms and tycoons, and our athletes in these sports continue to well in regional and international competition. If they can fund sports teams to sell their products, there is no reason why they cannot fund teams that represent our spirit, our identity and our country in the spirit of building peace and goodwill among nations,” he said.
The Philippines has still yet to bring home its first Olympic gold, lagging behind powerhouses like US, China and Russia.
It is important for all those who are involved in sports (from the national directors to coaches and athletes) to, not only participate in sporting events, but also to build for the long-term future of Philippine sports.
As the saying goes, “the difficult takes awhile, the impossible a little longer.” With the renewed efforts from the government in Philippine sports and the potential of this year’s Palarong Pamabansa to shape our future champions, let us hope that this generation can do it within our lifetime.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek May 9-11, 2012 Sec A pg. 6)