Ominous signs

Right from the start of the Beijing Olympics, the signs of disaster were ominous for the Philippines. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was ignored by the TV announcers covering the opening parade.

Then, the announcers mentioned the Filipino flag-bearer Manny Pacquiao was entered in the boxing competitions, betraying their unforgivable ignorance. Hello! Every sports broadcaster worth his salt should know who Pacquiao is by now and that professional fighters are not allowed to participate in the Olympics.

Surely, the Philippines deserved a little more recognition than just a passing mention from uninformed announcers, particularly as President Arroyo was one of only a few heads of state who graced the occasion.

Or maybe the announcers knew something we didn’t, that there was nothing to expect from the lean and far-from-mean delegation of 15 in Beijing.

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Philippine Amateur Swimming Association president Mark Joseph said the psychological factor is a vital element in mentally preparing an athlete for competition at the world stage.

“It’s definitely a factor,” he said. Joseph noted that psychology was a key topic of discussion among the country’s sports officials in a post-mortem dinner in Beijing the other night.

There was no doubt lightflyweight boxer Harry Tañamor, taekwondo jins Tshomlee Go and Toni Rivero, shooter Eric Ang and archer Mark Javier had the talent to shine but because of the severe pressure to deliver, none qualified for the medal round in their sports. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and long jumpers Henry Dagmil and Marestella Torres also fell way short of medal qualifying standards.

Observers said a main reason for the Beijing debacle was the Filipino athletes’ inability to cope with the pressure of ending the country’s quest for the elusive first-ever Olympic gold medal. They claimed the struggle was more psychological than physical, tracing the source of failure to a lack of mental toughness and self-confidence because of several factors including limited international exposure, unnerving pressure, politics, unstable earning capacity, inappropriate living conditions and poor coaching.

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In the run-up to Beijing, tanker Miguel Molina was reportedly trained for three months by a legendary figure in Olympic swimming history – Anthony Nesty of Suriname. Why only three months? Was it another case of cramming?

Nesty, 40, is in the record books as the first black swimmer to capture an Olympic gold medal. He achieved the feat in the 100-meter butterfly at the 1988 Seoul Games.

Nesty, however, wasn’t the first black swimmer to win an Olympic medal. The distinction belongs to Enith Brigitha, a Dutch competitor of Curacao descent, who claimed a pair of bronzes in the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Nesty won the gold after US hot favorite Matt Biondi blew a two-foot lead 10 meters from the finish by miscalculating his distance to the touch pad. Biondi chose to kick in the last few feet instead of taking an extra stroke and the wrong decision allowed Nesty, then 20, to beat him by less than an inch. Nesty’s time of 53.00 was just a fraction ahead of Biondi’s 53.01.

Nesty’s victory was a shocker. He was born in Trinidad and competed for Suriname,

 which is on the east coast of South America with a population of only 500,000. After his triumph, Nesty was rewarded with a cash prize of over $6,000 by the Suriname government and private benefactors. The local sports stadium was renamed in his honor and commemorative coins were issued to celebrate his victory. Nesty later added a bronze to his Olympic harvest from the 1992 Games.

Nesty is now a University of Florida swimming coach.