ASIDE from giving P200,000 incentives to each of their Paris-bound athletes, the University of Cebu is also offering a cool P1 million should Elreen Ando and John Febuar Ceniza bag a medal in the 2024 Olympics.
The two, along with their coach Christopher Bureros, were presented by the University of Cebu led by Atty. Augusto W. Go, school president Candice Gotianuy and athletics director Jessica Honoridez to the media.
Atty. Go said he was elated when he learned that two athletes from UC will make the Olympics.
“We were not expecting even one, but we were given two, Ms. Ando and Mr. Ceniza, who will go to the Olympics. And UC will continue to support them, before and even after the Olympics.
The two earned their slots in the Olympics during the International Weightlifting Federation World Cup in Phuket Thailand. Ando finished seventh overall in the women’s 59-kilo division with a total lift of 228 kilos, while Ceniza was sixth overall in the men’s 61-kilogram division with a lift of 300 kilos.
It is Ando’s second straight Olympics after she made the Tokyo Games. Unfortunately, Ando’s stint in Paris also ends the run of Hidilyn Diaz, who also competed in the 59-kilo division.
“I am thankful that I made it to Paris. About me and Hidi, we have a good relationship; she congratulated me when I qualified and I also thanked her because she’s also one of my inspirations for Paris,” said Ando.
Go, who has always been supportive of sports, also assured the two Olympians of the school’s support.
“Whatever needs do not hesitate for a moment to approach us and not just for financial things but other things as well,” said Go.
The two are the latest Olympians from a Cebu-based school after Mary Joy Tabal, then of Southwestern University, qualified for the Rio Olympics in 2016. / PR