Setting eyes on Rio

The Philippines is hoping to qualify from 15 to 20 athletes in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia said at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) forum.

 

Vowing to put the PSC’s money where its mouth is, Garcia said the objective is to send as many Filipino athletes to qualifying tournaments though the effort would entail costly trips mostly to Europe.

For a country which has yet to bag an elusive Olympic gold medal, Garcia’s sense of accomplishment seems to be hinged now on the number of athletes participating than their having real chances of winning medals.

“If we can get 15 to 20 athletes to Rio that will be good,” said Garcia. “That will be an accomplishment we can be proud of. If we go back to the past few Olympics, we haven’t been sending many athletes,” he said.

The Philippines only had 11 qualifiers in eight sporting disciplines in the 2012 London Olympics, none of whom made it past the elimination rounds.

“We are willing to spend. Funding will not be a problem as long as we qualify,” said Garcia who said the PSC would shoulder the training of qualifiers.

The International Olympic Committee shoulders all the other expenses of Olympic athletes during the actual games. -End-

Image by: BPIO