The Philippines ranks second among countries with the most Olympic medals won, except for a gold. The Philippines has brought home so far 10 Olympic medals composed of three silvers and seven bronzes, next only to Malaysia which has 11 medals – seven silvers and four bronzes.

In previous Olympic stagings, the Philippines pinned its hopes on one or at most two medal contenders, most of whom came from boxing which has delivered two silvers and three bronzes for the country. 

There is growing optimism among Filipinos that this could be a breakout year for the country in the Olympics.

This is the first Olympics since 1932 that the Philippines will be bannered by at least three athletes who have legitimate chances to medal in the quadrennial Summer Games.

In the 1932 edition, three Filipino athletes captured bronze medals: high jumper Simeon Toribio, boxer Jose Villanueva, and swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso.

Of the 19 athletes who will be representing the Philippines in the Tokyo Olympics, there are two world champions, one Olympic silver medalist and former world No. 1, and three others who in the top 10 world rankings of their events. 

The gold medal that has eluded the Philippines since it started joining the Olympics in 1924 could be within realistic reach this year.

Perhaps the brightest chances for the gold rests on the shoulders of three superb, world-caliber athletes. 

Carlos Yulo is one of the best gymnasts in the world, and he is out to prove it anew in Tokyo where he has been training since 2016 under coach Munehiro Kugimiya.

In 2019, Yulo won the gold in the floor exercise of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He also won a bronze in the same event in 2018.

Yulo was ranked 1st in the world in floor exercise at the end of 2020. He currently sits at the 3rd spot of the International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) latest world rankings.

Sports officials are confident Yulo will also do well in the men’s vault where he is 27th in the world and the parallel bars where he is ranked 35th. 

Nesthy Petecio emerged champion in the 2019 AIBA Women’s Boxing World Championships, defeating hometown bet Liudmila Vorontsova of Russia.

In the latest AIBA world rankings, Petecio is second in the women’s featherweight division.

The top ranked fighter is Yu-Ting Lin of Taiwan, the bronze medalist in the 2019 world championships and a gold medalist in the bantamweight division in the 2018 world championships.

Petecio has beaten some of the top featherweights in the world, including world No. 9 Vorotsova, No. 5 Karriss Artingstall of England, and No. 7 Stanimira Petrova of Bulgaria. 

2016 Rio Olympics heroine Hidilyn Diaz will be one of the favorites for the gold in weightlifting in the women’s 55kg division.

Diaz is fourth in the Tokyo Olympic qualifying rankings, but since the top three are from China and only one weightlifter per country is allowed in the Olympics, Diaz will technically be second in the rankings next to Jiang Huihua.

Diaz was ranked No. 1 in the world in 2020 and will be looking to reclaim the tag of the best in the world in the Olympics. The native of Zamboanga City will be appearing in her fourth straight Olympic games. 

Three others could also contend for medals in Tokyo. 

At the Kasumigaseki Country Club, 20-year-old Yuka Saso, the youngest athlete in the Philippine delegation, will look to sustain the impressive form she has displayed in the Ladies Professional Association (LPGA).

Just last month, Saso became the first from the Philippines to become champion of a golf major when she won the US Women’s Open.

Just over the weekend, she placed tied for fifth place in the LPGA Marathon Classic. Prior to her foray in the LPGA, Saso was a regular campaigner in the Japan LPGA, so she will be in familiar territory in the Tokyo Olympics. Saso is currently the eighth-ranked women’s golfer in the world. 

2019 AIBA Boxing World Championships silver medalist Eumir Marcial is the sixth-ranked middleweight in the world.

Marcial, a native of Zamboanga City like Diaz, will be facing some familiar opponents in Tokyo. He has previously defeated world No. 3 Tursynbay Kulakhmet of Kazakhstan, number 8 Tarik Allali of Morocco, and number 7 Seyedshahin Mousavi of Iran. 

Pole vaulter EJ Obiena has been winning in high level competitions in Europe where he has beaten some of the best in the world.

Obiena has steadily climbed the world rankings where he now occupies the sixth spot.

Obiena has also been breaking his own national record, the latest when he cleared 5.87 meters last July 1 in the Irena Szwewinska Memorial/Bydgoszcz Cup in Poland.

Obiena will have to probably clear at least 6 meters to have a chance to medal in the Olympics, but given how much he has progressed as of late, this height will not be improbable for him to scale in Tokyo.

The chances of our other athletes to win medals can also not be discounted.

Judoka Kiyomi Watanabe is an Asian Games silver medalist in the women’s -63 kg division and has won a bronze in the IJF Judo World Tour and a silver in the European Open.

Taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa proved in the qualifiers that he will fight until the final buzzer, while boxers Irish Magno and Carlo Paalam are experienced international campaigners capable of pulling off upsets.

In skateboarding, Asian Games gold medalist Margielyn Didal is ranked 13th in the world in the women’s street competition. 

A number of factors will have to fall into place for the Philippines to find success in the Tokyo Olympics. The luck of the draw in combat sports and injury-free campaigns by our top contenders will always help.

There is a real chance that the Philippines can win not only its first gold, but also bag multiple medals in this year’s Tokyo Olympics. We can only hope the stars align and that our athletes can outdo themselves and deliver the performances of a lifetime. – Rappler.com

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