List of the Philippine Olympic Team Athletes for the 2016 Rio Olympics
Philippine Olympic Team Athletes – The Philippines currently has 13 qualified athletes to compete in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
The Philippine Olympic team is now on the Olympic Village in Barra da Tijuca in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil wherein they will be staying for the period of the Summer Games.
Now, here are the athletes that will be representing the country on the Olympics listed by GMA News.
1. Nestor Colonia – Weightlifting
Nestor Colonia, 24, will join Hidilyn Diaz in the Rio Olympics weightlifting. He will be competing in the men’s -56kg allowed by the International Weightlifting Federation. He won two gold medals and a silver in the 2015 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Thailand. In 2016, he bagged the bronze in the 2016 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Uzbekistan.
Hidilyn Diaz
Hidilyn Diaz, 25, will represent the country for the third time in the Olympics this 2016. Diaz won three gold medals in the 2015 Southeast Asian Championships and Asian Championships, and also brought home a bronze medal in the World Championships in 2015 in the women’s -53kg.
3. Kirstie Elaine Alora – Taekwondo
Kirstie Alora, 26, was a two-time bronze medalist in the Asian games. She was qualified for the Rio Olympics after winning a silver medal in the Asian Qualifying Tournament last April 2016. She will compete in the women’s +67kg division. Alora was from Laguna, a three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist since 2005.
4. Ian Lariba – Table Tennis
Ian Lariba, 21, the first ever Filipino table tennis player to qualify for the Olympic Games. She was born in Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental. She will be the flag bearer for the in Rio. Lariba finished her career with an undefeated record gaining her with the Co-Athlete of the Year award in the UAAP. Lariba led De La Salle University to three championships and also winning three MVP awards.
5. Jessie Lacuna – Swimming
Jessie Khing Lacuna, 22, will be joining the Olympics after receiving a universality invitation from world swimming body FINA. Lacuna will compete in the men’s 200m butterfly after. Lacuna, swims for Ateneo de Manila University in the UAAP, wherein he was named UAAP Co-Athlete of the Year after winning seven gold medals in the tournament during the current season. He also won a silver and a bronze in the Southeast Asian Games 2015.
6. Jasmine Alkhaldi – Swimming
Jasmine Alkhaldi, 23, will be representing the Philippines in the 100m freestyle. Alkhaldi, a Fil-Arab received a universality invitation from world swimming body FINA for the Rio Olympics. Alkhaldi already won eight bronze medals in the SEA Games.
7. Miguel Tabuena – Golf
Miguel Tabuena, 21, will be competing in the Olympics as golf come backs after a century. Tabuena is currently ranked number 4 in the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He also won in the Philippine Open last 2015 to win his first Asian Tour title. Also, he made his first US Open just last July.
8. Rogen Ladon – Boxing
Rogen Ladon, 22, will be competing in the light flyweight category. He came from Negros Occidental. He won the silver medal in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore, a silver in the Asian Championships last 2015 and a bronze medal in the 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships. Ladon also won the silver in the 2016 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament.
9. Charly Suarez – Boxing
Charly Suarez, 27, from Davao del Norte, won the silver medal in the 2016 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament qualifying him to compete in Rio. Suarez already won two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games in 2009 and 2011 in the feather weight and light flyweight categories. He also won a silver medal at the 2014 SEA Games.
10. Mary Joy Tabal – Track and Field
Mary Joy Tabal, 26, is the first ever Filipino marathoner to qualify for the Olympics. Tabal already won the silver medal in the 2015 SEA Games after winning the National Milo Marathon Finals for three straight years. Due to conflicts with Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association last year, she left the national team, but she returned after qualifying for Rio.
11. Marestella Torres – Track and Field
Marestella Torres-Sunang, 35, the Philippines’ reigning long jump queen, will be competing in the Olympics for the third straight time. Born in San Jose, Negros Oriental, Torres already set the national record for long jump at 6.71 meters in 2011, and has surpassed her record with a 6.72 meter-leap in the Kazakhstan Open to qualify her to the Olympics. Torres-Sunang is a four-time gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games and also won gold in the 2009 Asian Championships.
12. Eric Shauwn Cray – Track and Field
Eric Shauwn Cray, 27, was a Filipino-American who already won two Southeast Asian Games gold medals in the men’s 400m hurdles. Cray also broke the SEA Games record after finishing in 49.40 seconds last 2015. In the Asian Indoor Championships this year, he broke the tournament record for the 60m with a time of 6.57 seconds during the semifinals, but ended up getting the bronze.
13. Kodo Nakano – Judo
Kodo Nakano, 23, is a Filipino-Japanese judoka who will be competing in the men’s 81kg event in the Rio Olympics after an Iranian judoka backed out. Nakano already won the bronze medal in the 2013 Southeast Asian Judo Championships. Nakano also represented the country in the World Championships as well.
Good luck to all, be safe and God bless!