With the Olympics barely five months away, Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit remained upbeat about the country's gold medal prospects in the Sydney Summer Games.
"If we win one gold medal, then we're on track, two would be a gift, three a miracle, four -- then something must have gone wrong," said Dayrit during yesterday's PSA forum at the Holiday Inn Manila.
Dayrit stuck to an earlier assessment that it would either be boxing or taekwondo -- or both -- that would end the Philippine quest for the elusive Olympic gold.
"Our boxers have been our consistent medal performers in the Olympics while our taekwondo jins, since the 1992 Barcelona Games, have also done well. I believe these two sports will deliver for us in Sydney," said Dayrit at the forum sponsored by Agfa, Red Bull and McDonald's.
Dayrit disclosed that thus far 16 Filipino athletes have qualified for the Olympics, including four in boxing and taekwondo, three in swimming, two in athletics, and one each in equestrian, archery and rowing.
"I understand our boxers will be leaving for Sydney on May 12 and will continue their buildup their until the Olympics while our taekwondo jins just came back recently from training in South Korea," Dayrit said.
"Equestrienne Toni Leviste is currently training in Europe and archer Jennifer Chan is now in Korea for her own buildup. All of our Olympic-bound athletes are in the midst of serious training," Dayrit added.
Bulk of the training expenses of the Olympic qualifiers is shouldered by the Philippine Sports Commission, he said.
The final lineup of the national team, he said, won't be known until late August when other sports like tennis, judo, shooting and lawn tennis will learn if they have gotten "wild card" slots for the Olympics.
"We will know by then how large our delegation will be. We have until the end of August to send our official lineup to the Sydney Olympic organizers," Dayrit said.
He revealed that former national swimmer Akiko Thomson is one of 44 nominees to the International Olympic Commission whose voting will take place Sept. 28 by all of the participating athletes in Sydney.