MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines celebrated a century of Olympic participation with its all-time best campaign, ending the Paris Games with two golds and two bronzes.
Sending its biggest Olympic delegation in over three decades, the Philippines emerged as the best performing Southeast Asian nation and finished at 37th place for its highest ranking since 1964.
Here is how each of the 22 Filipino athletes fared in the Paris Games:
Carlos Yulo (artistic gymnastics)
- won gold in men’s floor exercise, dethroning Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat
- won gold in men’s vault, edging Armenia’s Artur Davtyan
- placed 12th overall in the men’s all-around final
- became the Philippines’ first Olympic double gold medalist
- became the first Filipino to win multiple medals in a single Olympics
- won the Philippines’ first medal in Olympic gymnastics
Nesthy Petecio (boxing)
- won bronze in the women’s 57kg division
- reached the semifinals for a guaranteed medal
- lost to Poland’s Julia Szeremeta via split decision, 4-1, in the semifinals
- became the first Filipino boxer to win multiple Olympic medals after winning silver in the Tokyo Games
- joined Carlos Yulo, star weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, and late swimmer Teofilo Ildefonso as the only Filipinos to win multiple Olympic medals
Aira Villegas (boxing)
- won bronze in the women’s 50kg division
- reached the semifinals for a guaranteed medal in her Olympic debut
- lost to Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu via unanimous decision in the semifinals
- became the second Filipina boxer to win an Olympic medal after Nesthy Petecio
EJ Obiena (athletics)
- finished fourth in the men’s pole vault final with a 5.90-meter clearance
- fell just an attempt short of the bronze, losing to Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis via countback
- improved on his 11th-place finish in the Tokyo Games
- nearly ended the Philippines’ medal drought in Olympic athletics since Miguel White won the men’s 400m hurdles bronze in 1936
Bianca Pagdanganan (golf)
- finished at joint fourth in the women’s individual stroke play with a 6-under 282
- fell just a shot short of forcing a playoff for the bronze
- netted the highest finish by a Filipino in Olympic golf
- made a big leap after finishing at joint 43rd in the Tokyo Games
Elreen Ando (weightlifting)
- finished sixth in the women’s 59kg division
- reset her own national records in clean and jerk (130kg) and total lift (230kg)
- improved on her seventh-place finish in the women’s 64kg in the Tokyo Games
Carlo Paalam (boxing)
- beat Ireland’s Jude Gallagher via unanimous decision in his opening bout to reach the quarterfinals of the men’s 57kg division
- lost to Australia’s Charlie Senior via split decision, 3-2, in the quarterfinals
- fell short of repeating as an Olympic medalist after winning silver in the men’s 52kg division in the Tokyo Games
Dottie Ardina (golf)
- finished at joint 13th in the women’s individual stroke play with a 3-under 285
- did better than several household names, including LPGA major winners Nelly Korda of USA, Minjee Lee of Australia, and Celine Boutier of France
- debuted in the Olympics after pulling out from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games
Kayla Sanchez (swimming)
- reached the semifinals of the women’s 100m freestyle
- reset her own national record with a time of 53.67 seconds in the heats, where she finished at joint 10th
- finished 15th out of 16 semifinalists
Joanie Delgaco (rowing)
- finished 20th out of 32 participants in the women’s single sculls
- reached the quarterfinals after clocking the best time in the repechage
- became the first female rower to represent the Philippines in the Olympics
Samantha Catantan (fencing)
- beat Brazil’s Mariana Pistoia, 15-13, in the round of 64 of the women’s individual foil to advance
- suffered a narrow loss to top seed Arianna Errigo of Italy, 15-12, in the round of 32
- became the first female fencer to represent the Philippines in the Olympics
Eumir Marcial (boxing)
- dropped the opening bout after losing to Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev via unanimous decision in the round of 16 of the men’s 80kg division
- missed out on a medal repeat after winning bronze in the men’s 75kg division in the Tokyo Games
Hergie Bacyadan (boxing)
- dropped the opening bout after losing to China’s Li Qian via unanimous decision in the round of 16 of the women’s 75kg division
- successfully returned to boxing and debuted in the Olympics after representing the Philippines in Vietnamese martial art vovinam
Kiyomi Watanabe (judo)
- dropped the opening bout after losing to China’s Tang Jing via ippon in the round of 32 of the women’s -63kg division
- reached the Olympics for the second time
Levi Jung-Ruivar (artistic gymnastics)
- finished 40th in the women’s individual all-around, 40th in uneven bars, 54th in floor exercise, and 64th in balance beam
- debuted in the Olympics as the youngest member of Team Philippines at 18 years old
Emma Malabuyo (artistic gymnastics)
- finished 41st in the women’s individual all-around, 25th in floor exercise, 57th in balance beam, and 60th in uneven bars
- debuted in the Olympics as the last Filipino gymnast to qualify for the Paris Games
Aleah Finnegan (artistic gymnastics)
- finished 47th in the women’s individual all-around, 17th in vault, 37th in floor exercise, 58th in uneven bars, and 71st in balance beam
- debuted in the Olympics, and together with Levi Jung-Ruivivar and Emma Malabuyo, ended a six-decade wait for a female gymnast to compete in the Games
Jarod Hatch (swimming)
- ended his Olympic debut in the heats of the men’s 100 butterfly
- finished 36th out of 40 swimmers
Lauren Hoffman (athletics)
- ended her Olympic debut in the repechage of the women’s 400m hurdles
- finished 37th out of 40 hurdlers in the heats
John Cabang Tolentino (athletics)
- ended his Olympic debut prematurely after withdrawing from the repechage of the men’s 110m hurdles due to an injury
- finished 32nd out of 40 hurdlers in the heats
Vanessa Sarno (weightlifting)
- registered a DNF (did not finish) in the women’s 71kg division
- exited early in her Olympic debut after failing to make a lift in the snatch portion
John Ceniza (weightlifting)
- registered a DNF (did not finish) in the men’s 61kg division
- exited early in his Olympic debut after failing to make a lift in the snatch portion
– Rappler.com