From Margielyn Didal’s positive spirit to EJ Obiena’s assertion of what is right, we learned so much from this Olympics.
This year’s Tokyo Olympics give an abundance of glorious moments to celebrate not just for our Filipino athletes, but for the rest of the country as well. For the first time we sent the most number of delegates, where 10 of those 19 are female. We don’t just get the gold, but we have a multi-medal Olympics for the first time as well because of our athletes great performances in the games.
Our athletes bagged 4 medals 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze, from Hidilyn Diaz, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Eumir Marcial, and all of them were promised to receive an ample amount of rewards that are worth millions of pesos. It was also reported that all members of the triumphant Philippine team, including non-medalists, will receive incentives worth P500,000 each from the Philippine Olympic Committee and MVP Sports Foundation. No one would contest, this is the best Olympics we ever had.
We all have our share of bad news from national issues to our daily lives, we carry them all, and sometimes they take a toll on both our physical and mental health. We are collectively in dire need of hope and some good news. Unintentionally, our athletes had given us more than their victories, but inspirations as well. Here are some of the highlights of our athletes from the Olympics that are worth more than silver or gold yet make us proud of them as Filipinos.
Sports has no gender
This Olympic season opened a lot of topics to discuss from the support that athletes were ought to receive from the government to the gender-bending chosen sports of our athletes. Contrary to what we were used to seeing, we have a female weightlifter, boxer, skateboarder, and male gymnast. They proved that you can be the best in any sport you choose, and even if all sports would bring challenges, gender should not be one of them. Now, young girls will look up to women who can lift, fight, and do daring activities, while young boys will not be hindered by stereotypes when they want to do gymnast.
Asserting our rights
EJ Obiena shows how to break free from a Filipino stereotype: Timidity. Obiena asserted his right to have another attempt after he noticed that while the uprights—vertical beams that support the bar that vaulters leap over—were being adjusted, the time did not stop ticking.
He said, “I basically asked them to move the standards to 65 when the timer was already running. I was telling them I cannot jump if the bar is moving. I said you should have at least paused the time,”
This move garnered him praises. He explained how this is not new to him since fighting for what is right is something he upholds in his life, and it just gained attention because it happened in the Olympics. However, he doesn’t encourage any disrespect towards anyone, “It doesn’t matter what your status is. If you’re the manager, you’re the clerk, you’re the sanitary personnel, you should be able to speak your thoughts. I’m not saying you should disrespect [anyone]. When you truly believe you’re right, there should be a right way to explain it, there’s always a right way to fight for it.”
He continued, “Us Filipinos, we’re very timid, we’re very ‘yes po, yes po yes po’. Sometimes, we should say ‘wait lang po, pwedeng ganun; wait lang po, may idea ako; or wait lang po, Ito ang tingin kong tama.’ I believe everybody should do it.”
Character will give you the spotlight
Margielyn Didal only finished on the 7th place in Women’s Street Skateboarding, but her positive reaction whenever she fails to do her tricks has captured the attention and the hearts of Olympics’ digital audience all over the world. Aside from her fun demeanor, she was also commended for expressively celebrating all of her opponents’ win. Didal shows that there’s a lot to miss out when you don’t appreciate the moment of here and now, like the fun in the competition, and the friends you could meet along the way.
Having a grateful heart
Eumir Marcial is one of the strong bets of the Philippines, and many are expecting that he will also bag a gold for the country. However, he lost to his match against Ukrainian, Oleksandr Khyzhniak in men’s middleweight semifinals. Even in this loss, Marcial remains immensely grateful and showcased humility until the very end. Marcial told an American journalist, “I gave my all to win, but that was the decision, I know God has plans for me. For me, this bronze is gold.”
Your past won’t define your future
Carlo Paalam may be our youngest bet among our Olympic boxers this year, but you would always hear wisdom every time it’s his turn to speak. After his split-decision defeat to Great Britain’s Galal Yafai in the men’s flyweight division finals, Paalam remained beyond thankful. First, he was thankful to experience a knockdown for this will be a reminder and a lesson for him.
For him, the silver medal he hold is a symbol of his life. Never being ashamed of telling his story of as a scavenger in the landfill areas of Cagayan de Oro, he recalls that he commonly finds scrap metals which he would sell to buy food for his family.
Now, after a decade, the world has come full circle for Paalam, because this time around, it wasn’t trash, but the silver medal of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was made from metal scraps as well.
For Paalam, everything has a purpose, and this win shows us that everyone is up for a major transformation, that there’s beauty and hope for the broken, seemingly useless, things.
Never giving up
Bringing home the first gold medal for the Philippines doesn’t happen overnight. For Hidilyn Diaz, it took her 4 Olympics before having this golden moment. Diaz proves that everything is possible to the one who believes, and tirelessly acting up on those dreams no matter how many times one has fallen short.
Related:
Hidilyn Diaz Wins The First Olympic Gold Medal For The Philippines
Nesthy Petecio Is The First Filipina Olympic Boxing Medalist
