Recognizing the potential of Filipino athletic talent to excel given proper support, Tokyo Sports Press president Koji Hiranabe gave much-needed sports gear to national track and field athletes Frederick Ramirez and Harry Diones for their training and competitions.

In the presence of their coaches Jojo Posadas and wife Elma Muros-Posadas, a former national standout herself, Hiranabe awarded middle distance runner Ramirez and triple jumper Diones quality track shoes and other equipment to support their athletic careers.

“As a former sportsman myself, we realize how hard athletes work and prepare for their competitions. Hopefully these will help them to be better in their sport,” Hiranabe said through an interpreter during a recent visit to Manila. 

He is the man behind the success of Tokyo Sports Press, Japan’s biggest sports newspaper and which also has a widely-read website in Japanese.

Hiranabe, who admires former eight-division world champion and Pinoy boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, was on a business trip together with colleague and associate Hideyuki Suzuki, vice president of Todashoji Co. Ltd, upon the invitation of KG Management director Jun Basas Esturco.

“Malaking tulong ito kay Frederick and Harry sa kanilang training and competition. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of Mr. Hiranabe’s support for our local athletes,” Posadas, who has nurtured the development and progress of both Ramirez and Diones, noted,

Ramirez is a member of the men’s 4x400-meter relay squad that set a new national record of three minutes and 4.89 seconds that placed fifth in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games and ruled the same event in the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games last year. 

Even more impressive and showing marked improvement, Ramirez topped the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association performance trials in his forte last weekend with a time 46.83 seconds, more than two seconds faster than 48.87 second he clocked in the Hangzhou Asiad.

“That is a very competitive time. Pang-kumpetisyon na yang oras ni Frederick,” Posadas noted. 

On the other hand, Diones bagged a bronze medal in the men’s triple jump during the 2017 Asian Athletic Championships in Bhubaneswar, India and is a three-time SEA Games silver medalist in his pet event.      

“Alam ko ang hirap ng isang atleta na hindi nabibigyan ng suporta kaya malaking bagay ang ginawa ni Mr. Hiranabe sa pagtulong sa dalawang atletang ito,” Muros-Posadas, a former SEA Games long jump and heptathlon queen, stressed.  

“We would like to thank Mr. Hiranabe for their generous support of Ramirez and Diones, which we hope will inspire and motivate them to become better in their respective events,” said Esturco, whose agency also supports swimmer James Ray Ajido and gymnast Karl Eldrew Yulo.   

“We pray that this will just be the start of the Tokyo Sports president’s support of some of our outstanding local athletes,” he added.