Marcos honors Filipino Olympians

PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. honored the Filipino athletes who participated in the just-concluded 2024 Olympics in Paris on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, and awarded them monetary rewards for their achievements.

Marcos hosted an arrival dinner for the Filipino Olympians at Malacañang where he personally expressed gratitude to the athletes for bringing honor and pride to the country.

He said the athletes have demonstrated the spirit of the Filipino, the determination of a Filipino, and the excellence of the Filipino spirit.

The President awarded P20 million in cash and the Presidential Medal of Merit to double Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo; P2 million each to bronze medalists Aira Cordero Villegas and Nesthy Alcayde Petecio; and P1 million each to the other Olympians.

“Dalawang linggo akong puyat para manood ng sari-saring mga event. But ‘yung puyat ko worth it na worth it dahil talagang napakagandang panuorin kayo at makita kayo. At ‘yung performance ninyo na naging bunga sa taon-taon na sakripisyo ng sarili ninyo, ng inyong mga coach, mga trainer, mga nutritionist, at lalong-lalo na ang mga pamilya ninyo,” said Marcos.

(I stayed up for two weeks to watch various events. But all the sleepless nights were worth it because it was truly amazing to watch and see you. Your performance is the result of years of sacrifice by yourselves, your coaches, trainers, nutritionists, and especially your families.)

“What we should do is really recognize all the athletes, number one, all the athletes. I think any athlete… Kahit sinong atleta dito sa Pilipinas o kung saan man lang, na makapag-qualify sa Olympics, mabigat ‘yun. That is an extremely difficult achievement to have managed,” he added.

(What we should do is really recognize all the athletes, number one, all the athletes. I think any athlete… Even any athlete here in the Philippines or anywhere else who qualifies for the Olympics, that’s a significant achievement. It is an extremely difficult accomplishment to manage.)

Marcos also gave P500,000 to each of the Filipino athlete’s coaching teams.

The chief executive reiterated his administration’s commitment to supporting efforts to further develop Philippine sports, acknowledging that the Philippines is lagging behind other countries.

“If you can consider that all of these athletes who have done so well and have made us so proud, there’s no official, technical support from the government.They did it on their own, siyempre mayroong tumutulong. Kung minsan ‘yung gobyerno nakakatulong. Pero walang pormal na istraktura para tulungan ‘yung ating mga atleta. And that’s what we are going to establish now,” said Marcos.

(If you consider that all of these athletes who have done so well and made us so proud, there’s no official, technical support from the government. They did it on their own; of course, there are some who help them. Sometimes the government provides assistance. But there is no formal structure in place to support our athletes. And that’s what we are going to establish now.)

“So, I ask all of you to tell us, what is it that you need. Saan kayo — noong sa pag-training ng mga atleta natin, saan kayo nahirapan? Anong hindi ninyo magawa na maitutulong namin? You tell us and hopefully, if we really work together and start to prepare — for not only the Olympics, of course, that’s a very important one, but not only the Olympics. We start to prepare for all the international competitions that we have — that are there before us,” he added.

(So, I ask all of you to tell us what you need. Where did you encounter difficulties in training our athletes? What are the things you can’t do that we could help with? Let us know, and hopefully, if we work together and start preparing—not only for the Olympics, which is very important, but for all the international competitions we have ahead of us.) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)