Monday, January 08, 2007 Ramirez confident RP can win Olympic gold
PHILIPPINE Sports Commission Chair William "Butch" Ramirez is still confident the country can win an Olympic gold and that this may come in the 2008 Beijing Games.
He, however, admitted Team Philippines may not have the luxury of time in as far as preparation for the world's biggest sporting show is concerned.
Ramirez said with the Olympics set to be held next year, all they need to do now is to send potential athletes abroad for rigid training.
The PSC chief cited taekwondo, boxing, fencing and karate as the disciplines, which can strike gold for RP, whose best finish ever was two silver medals courtesy of boxing.
"It's still a possible dream," Ramirez told members of the media during a dinner he hosted recently.
The country won four gold medals in the recent Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, which was one gold short of Ramirez's prediction of a 5-gold haul.
The performance, however, of the Filipino athletes received commendations from sports officials, led by President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo.
Because of this, Ramirez, who had planned to resign from his post earlier, was asked by the President to stay and was immediately given marching orders to get the country's first gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (CRAM)
