Horror stories in Beijing

The country’s showing in Beijing will go down in history as one of the darkest moments, if not the darkest ever for Filipino athletes in the Olympics. Not a single competitor in the lean delegation of 15 came close to bagging a medal.

Four swimmers broke Philippine and Southeast Asian (SEA) Games records but none made it past the qualifying heats. That’s how distant the gap is between our part of the world and the rest.

Even if three of the five Filipino tankers in Beijing were less than 20, how realistic is the dream that at least one of them will be able to bag a medal at the 2012 London Olympics?

If Natalie Coughlin decides to swim for the Philippines in London, she’ll have to notify the international federation of the shift in allegiance three years before. But is she willing to give up her benefits as a US swimmer? Coughlin, who has Filipino roots, is probably the best bet for the Philippines to claim an Olympic swimming medal in London even if she’ll be 30 by then.

Nobody expected the shutout in taekwondo and boxing. Surely, jins Tshomlee Go and Toni Rivero were ready to give it their all. Go had a lucky draw but couldn’t survive Australia’s Ryan Carneli in his opening match. He ran out of luck as Carneli held on to a 1-0 win. Rivero battled Croatia’s Sandra Saric to a 1-1 tie after two rounds then collapsed in a heap down the stretch. Saric crushed Rivero, 4-1. Worse, neither Carneli nor Saric won again, relegating Go and Rivero to the bottom of the standings.

There could’ve been a case for faulty scoring in Go’s bout but Saric beat Rivero convincingly. The poor jins succumbed to the pressure of carrying the load of the country’s medal hopes on their back. How Go and Rivero will bounce back from the disaster in Beijing is a test of their resiliency.

Philippine Taekwondo Association executive vice president and grandmaster Sung Chon Hong questioned the jins’ mental toughness. He said they fought with no killer’s instinct. The PTA did everything possible to prepare Go and Rivero for Beijing so it’s a mystery as to what else the organization can do for future competitions. Is one of the solutions to hire a sports psychologist?

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Tañamor’s exit was a shame. His Ghana opponent Manyo Plange was not scouted. Tañamor struggled in making the weight. He foolishly hoped to score points with body punches. If Tañamor was an eyesore in the ring, his cornermen were worse off. Tañamor was a sorry excuse for a fighter. Retirement is his only option.

Even more shameful was Tañamor’s apparently nonchalant attitude after losing. The two-time Olympian, who was booted out of the national team for the 2006 Asian Games for disciplinary reasons, appeared to be unaffected by the setback, like he couldn’t care less.

Trap shooter Eric Ang, the oldest in the delegation at 37, looked like a novice in finishing dead last of 35 contenders. He compiled scores of 19-24-22-21-20 to post a 106 total compared to Czech gold medalist David  Kostelecky’s 146. National Shooting Association of the Philippines president Art Macapagal, who witnessed the bungle, said Ang was out of rhythm in missing the cutoff for six finalists by 13 birds.

Ang clearly couldn’t cope with the pressure as he lost his nerve in pulling the trigger of his Italian custom-made shotgun. Another prospective patient for a sports psychologist?

Divers Sheila Mae Perez and Ryan Fabriga didn’t get along with their Chinese coach Zhang Deju who’d been on the job for eight years. Perez disagreed with Zhang on the degree of difficulty to undertake in her maneuvers while Fabriga was chastised for reporting eight pounds over his diving weight. The relationship between Zhang and the divers was far from healthy and it showed in their performance.

Perez was lambasted for a dreadfully huge splash in her second effort, a backward 2 1/2 tucked somersault in the three-meter springboard. She scored 251.15 points to finish 23rd of 30 and was outshone by two Malaysians. The qualifying mark was 373.9 points. Fabriga was last among 30 contenders in the 10-meter platform event.

Long jumpers Henry Dagmil and Marestella Torres were a disappointment. Dagmil registered only one legitimate jump at 7.54 meters, way below his record of 7.99 and the top qualifying mark of 8.27 to advance to the semifinals. His last two attempts were scratched because of infractions, a clear indication of lack of focus.

Torres blamed the crack of the starting gun in the 200-meter race on a nearby track for blunting her concentration in her first jump. She also claimed a leg injury. Her first leap of 4.27 meters was a far cry from her record of 6.63. Despite the supposed injury, Torres jumped to 5.94 in her second try and 6.17 in her third. Unfortunately, the top qualifying mark was 6.87. She wound up 34th of 41.