HOTSPOT
As I write this, boxer Carlo Paalam is already assured of a silver medal; his fight today will determine if the Philippines could win a phenomenal second Olympic gold medal.
This high hope and high expectation stem in no small part from weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz’s historic Olympic gold medal victory. Yes, she has written a page in our history. But she also changed our view of our national athletes and ourselves.
Silver medalist Nesthy Petecio has changed boxing too by showing in no uncertain terms that it can be a sport for women and LGBTs. It is simply impossible for bigots to argue against her Olympic success in Tokyo, and she could win more Olympic medals and world championships in the future.
On his way to Tokyo and to the podium, Eumir Marcial was slugging it out with trolls and cynics who thought that he was too demanding. They plainly wanted him and other national athletes to suffer and to starve on his way to the Olympics.
They may not have won medals, but skateboarder Margielyn Didal, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo and the other members of Team Philippines racked up national records, achieved high marks, or represented the entire Asian continent in their respective sports.
Make no mistake: Our Filipino Olympians in Tokyo deserve eternal glory for what they have achieved individually and in our behalf. Their stories are the stuff of a new national legend that could amaze, inspire, and unite us and future generations. We may not be billionaires, but we as a people can reward them with something even more precious and in fact priceless.
Perhaps there could be no higher tribute to Hidilyn and our Olympians in Tokyo than to make sports a top priority for the country, beginning with our families and communities.
Ahead of winning medals in the Olympics, they have shown that sports can be a worthwhile activity for our youth, one that could help ensure their physical and mental well-being.
Today’s youth now have more choices beyond basketball and boxing: we now have weightlifting, pole vault, skateboarding, and artistic gymnastics. Hidilyn, Nesthy and Carlos have challenged whatever preconceived notions or stereotypes some (or many) have about youth, sports and gender.
The high prestige enjoyed by sports and our national athletes today should not just help ensure that winners get the pledged rewards and incentives guaranteed by law. Hidilyn and the rest of Team Philippines have said it clearly and boldly: We should support sports starting at the grassroots and at the training and development levels.
That requires funding and obtaining such funding from the state. This is where political action comes in. Yes, sports is and should remain non-partisan. But our athletes are citizens too. They should have a say in how the state splits the annual budget of P4-trillion, and in the crafting of new laws and amending old ones that are related to sports. They should also have a lead and pivotal roles in our Olympic committee, sports commission, and national sports associations. These could only happen if our national athletes achieve a high sense of organization and political acumen as well.
If sports are important in ensuring the physical and mental well-being of the youth, and can bring honor to the country, we cannot leave our athletes at the mercy of corrupt officials or the philantrophy of billionaires seeking to commodify them or capitalize on their prestige. This is where we as a people, through our families and communities, can unite with our athletes in common action as citizens. There should be a better way than the current one to fully develop and finance the development and training of athletes and in the promotion of sports.
For now, we celebrate Hidilyn, Nesthy, Eumir and the rest of our Tokyo Olympians, and we await the final outcome of Carlo’s fight. We look closely at those who pledge rewards to them and make sure the checks and titles are handed out. We also look back at the experience and conditions of past Olympians and national athletes, and vow to correct what’s wrong as we look forward to future games.
Making sports a priority for our youth and our country thus requires an early start, study, focus, determination, preparation, plans, funding and support. National athletes obviously know a lot about this. We can do it together, and win for our youth and country physical and mental well-being, and more medals too.