Tokyo Olympics

Managing millions: What will Filipino Olympic medalists do with incentives?

Delfin Dioquino

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Managing millions: What will Filipino Olympic medalists do with incentives?

RICHER. Olympic medalists (from left) Hidilyn Diaz, Nesthy Petecio, Eumir Marcial, and Carlo Paalam can turn their lives around with their Tokyo Olympics rewards.

REUTERS

Hidilyn Diaz, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Eumir Marcial will rake in a combined cash reward of over P100 million following their exploits in the Tokyo Olympics

Hidilyn Diaz admitted she made “wrong choices” with some of her earnings from her silver-medal win in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

At that time, Diaz received P7 million and a house and lot after ending the Philippines’ 20-year Olympic medal drought.

The weightlifting star will not be making the same mistake this time. (LIST: Hidilyn Diaz rakes in millions after historic Olympic gold)

Diaz is set for a cash windfall of P55.5 million – almost eight times as many as her cash incentives in Rio – after bagging the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold in the Tokyo Games.

“This is the second time that I won in the Olympics, I’ve made wrong choices and wrong expenses. The good thing is I’ve learned a lot,” Diaz said in Filipino in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Online Forum.

Using her Rio cash rewards, Diaz put up her own weightlifting gym in Barangay Mampang in her hometown Zamboanga City, where she started her journey as a young lifter.

Although delighted that the gym has become an avenue for aspiring weightlifters to try the sport, Diaz bared in a separate interview that it was not a “wise” decision financially.

For her Tokyo earnings, Diaz intends to save and invest with the guidance of financial advisors.

“I’m too focused on being an athlete and I’m not good at managing money so I need advise,” Diaz said.

Where Diaz will stay in the country after nearly two years in Malaysia will not be a problem anymore as she acquires several residential properties on top of her cash incentives.

Megaworld Corporation recently turned over the P14-million condominium unit in Eastwood City it promised Diaz.

Diaz will also obtain house and lots in Zamboanga City from President Rodrigo Duterte, Tagaytay City from Philippine Olympic Committee Bambol Tolentino, and in an area of her choice from Century Properties.

Family ties

Meanwhile, boxing silver medalist Nesthy Petecio will give back to her family, distributing the condominium unit and house and lots she will receive to her siblings.

Petecio said she does not want the young members of her family to go through the hardships she experienced, including living under rambutan trees covered in tarpaulin sheets.

“I want them to grow up in a beautiful house where they’re safe,” said the first Filipina Olympic medalist in boxing.

A portion of her P24 million cash reward will also go to her relatives. (LIST: Nesthy Petecio punches way to millions with Olympic silver)

“Once I know that they’re okay, when I see that I don’t have to support them anymore, that is the time that I’ll take care of myself and buy the things I want,” Petecio said.

“I prioritize my family because they’re the reason why I’m here, why I work hard,” she added.

Diaz, though, said it is important that athletes look out after themselves.

“I won’t be an athlete forever and I won’t be able to help my family if I don’t have savings for myself. I have to put myself first and then the love and blessings will overflow,” Diaz said.

“When the blessings are overflowing, I’ll be able to support my family. You have to secure yourself first. It’s like love – you have to love yourself first before you love others.”

Still undecided

While Diaz and Petecio already have an idea what to do with their earnings, boxing silver medalist Carlo Paalam and bronze medalist Eumir Marcial are still weighing their options.

Marcial, for example, is keen on going back to work as he resumes his professional boxing career. (LIST: Eumir Marcial bags millions after Olympic bronze)

“In my mind, I want to train again and win more tournaments and fights. I still have to think about it,” said Marcial, who stands to receive P10.5 million and a house and lot among other rewards.

The cash incentives are life-changing, particularly for Paalam.

A former scavenger who used to earn his keep through collecting garbage, Paalam will rake in P24 million. (LIST: Former scavenger Carlo Paalam to collect millions after Olympic silver)

Paalam, though, still has no plans for the biggest payday of his career.

“I still have no idea what to do about the money because we still haven’t gotten it,” Paalam said with a chuckle.

To help Petecio, Paalam, and Marcial manage their wealth, the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines will set them up with financial advisors. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.