The rest of the bemedalled Filipino athletes from the just-concluded Tokyo Olympics--all from the boxing team--have arrived home.
Olympic silver medalists Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and bronze medalist Eumir Marcial all wore their respective, hard-earned hardware as they waved to the well-wishers who welcomed them after touchdown at around 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 in Pasay City.
Together with fellow pugilist Irish Magno, who holds the distinction of being the first female Filipino boxer to qualify for the Olympics, the quartet form the strongest boxing team ever assembled by the Philippines for the quadrennial games.
The four were flown home by Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR 427 from Narita, Japan.
Returning to the Philippines last week to much fanfare was weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who won the country's first ever Olympic gold medal. She did so by conquering the women's 55-kilogram category in the Tokyo summer games.
Diaz, Petecio, Paalam, and Marcial's efforts accounted for the Philippines's best medal output ever in the Olympics. It was also a rare multi-medal finish for the country.