Olympic Dream

The 2008 Beijing Olympics is coming to an end, and at this point the Philippines team is still searching for that elusive gold medal. With 13 of our 15 athletes already out of medal contention one may ask if it is wrong to hope for any medal with time running.

Afghanistan has already won a medal. Yes the same country torn apart by war and is in a rebuilding mode won a medal. For their government officials sports competition maybe the last thing on their mind but that does not became an obstacle for them to win in the Olympics. Comparing Afghanistan to the Philippines may be a bit exaggerating but if they can do it why can’t we? If only our government would prioritize sports, then we could have a fighting chance in the Olympics but I guess that’s not the case.

Another thing, many in the private sector signified support by awarding monetary incentives to the athletes who will bring home medals. I don’t doubt their sincerity in helping the athletes, but with the way our athletes performing, coming home without a medal for the third straight Olympics is likely to happen, then the incentives the private sector promised will never be given. This is just a suggestion, what if they still give it to the athletes in support for their training and with that the chance of winning a medal in the next Olympics will be higher.

I see the potential in our athletes, I should know because I have been ardently following their games on TV. It seems that the difference came from the preparations and trainings that our rivals have undertaken. As one of our Olympians Henry Dagmil in one of his interviews after the competitions said that, preparation for this kind of competition should take years not just months. Sadly with lack of budget his training went only for months. And the result he didn’t even qualify for the semifinals of his event long jump. I don’t blame him for his poor performance in fact I felt frustration because he clearly have the talent to win a medal but lack of funds came in the way.

Our bet in weightlifting competitions Hidilyn Diaz she’s only 17, though she didn’t any medal she faired well in the competitions. Her coach, who accompanied her in the games, predicted that with the proper training, maybe she can win in the 2012 London Olympics. See, we don’t have any shortage for talented athletes what we have is shortage of support from our government and the lack of funds for our athletes. Just thinking about this situation really frustrates me. Think of all the wasted talents because of this silly situation of not having enough funds it’s just not justifiable.

Everybody loves a winner, that is human nature and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if ever our athletes would come home with any medal to show, I’d still be proud of them, they did their best and that’s the important thing.