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| Cris Nievarez, in action in this file photo, becomes the first Filipino rower to make the Games’ quarterfinals. (File photo by=INQUIRER) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] TOKYO—About the same time the president of the country’s gymnastics federation was studying the video of American gymnastics star Simone Biles, rower Cris Nievarez was cutting through the surface of the Sea Forest Waterway here, giving Team Philippines a welcome dose of positivity as it began its hunt for medals in the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, PH Inquirer reported.
An admitted long shot for a medal, the 21-year-old Nievarez managed to provide the country with an ideal start: He qualified for the quarterfinals of the men’s single sculls a day before Team Philippines sent two of its world champions into action in different venues here. Nievarez wasn’t really expected to fire up the country’s medal machine here, but at a time when a raging pandemic has taught people to celebrate little victories, there was no diminishing the Filipino rower’s triumph: Nievarez, only the third Filipino rower to campaign in the Summer Games, bested the two others before him by making the quarterfinals.
“It’s a good start for Team Philippines here in the Tokyo Olympics,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino. “Nievarez qualifying in the quarterfinals on the first day is a good testament that our athletes have prepared well, despite the pandemic.”
