Did you know that there are at least 5 Filipino-Americans seeing action in Paris Olympics? Four of them are competing under the Philippine flag and they are hurdler Lauren Hoffman, swimmer Jarod Hatch, and gymnasts Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo. The fifth Fil-Am in Paris is fencer Lee Kiefer who’s carrying the United States flag.
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Aside from the 5 Fil-Am Olympians, 3 other Filipino-Foreigners are in the Paris Games. Filipino-Brit gymnast Jake Jarman is performing for Great Britain; Filipino-Japanese golfer Yuka Saso is at the Paris fairways for Japan; and, Filipina fencer Maxine Esteban opted to compete for Ivory Coast.
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To be an Olympian is actually an achievement by itself. To be sure, it’s not easy to get a slot in the Games. The athletes have to be certified world-class. They should rank prominently in World’s Athletics Rankings chart, win in qualifying tournaments, and achieve high performance standards that vary by event.
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Overall, Philippines has been able to qualify 22 athletes in the 2024 Olympics. After the 4 Fil-Ams and 3 Fil-Foreigners, the 15 Filipinos in Paris are pole vaulter EJ Obiena; boxers Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Palma, Emir Martial, Hergie Bacyadan, and Aira Villegas; gymnasts Carlos Yulo and Levi Ruivivar; weightlifters Ellen Ann Ando, John Ceniza and Vanessa Sarno; golfers Bianca Pangandaman and Dottie Ardina; rower Joanie Delgado; and, fencer Sam Catantan.
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The small number of Olympic qualifiers produced by the Philippines tells a sad story about the country’s sporting program. Philippines has an estimated 118-million population and it could only produce 22 Olympians. New Zealand, a country of just 5.3 million people, has an Olympic team with 195 athletes.
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The United States, as expected, has the most number of Olympians in Paris with 592. The U.S. is closely followed by host nation France with 573 with Australia coming in at third spot with 460 Olympians while Germany landed fourth with 428. The U.S is also the defending overall champion In Paris having won the most gold medals (39) in the Tokyo Games.
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All G-7 countries are in the Top Ten Nations with the Most Olympians in Paris. G-7 is of course the group of seven most advanced economies in the world and they are the U.S., France and Germany together with Japan (403 athletes), Italy (371), Great Britain (327) and Canada (315). This suggests that the nation’s economy is a telling factor in producing world-class sportsmen and women.
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China, the second largest economy in the world and second most populous country, was able to qualify 388 athletes to the Paris Olympics — good for sixth place in the list of countries with most Olympians.
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Russia, meanwhile, was not allowed to be at the Paris Games as a competing nation because of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But qualified Russian athletes were admitted as “Individual Neutral Athletes” or AINs. The same sanction was imposed on Belarus for supporting Russia’s attack against Ukraine.
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Ukraine, despite Russia’s invasion, is taking part in the Paris Olympics. It sent a team of 140 athletes, the smallest delegation to the Games by Ukraine in the post-Soviet Union times.
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FOOTNOTE. This column wishes to extend its heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Edwina Yna Aniag and Ms. Cristina Arrieta for great help in finding precious space for us in the Filipino-American Post newspaper. It’s truly great honor and privilege to be of service to the Fil-Am community in California. We hope to see both of you in our next visit to the United States.
