NANJING – The Philippine flag was raised in the Athletes Village here even before the small group of athletes representing the country arrived Thursday for the Youth Olympic Games.
On Saturday evening, the Philippine colors will again be on display during the opening ceremony at the sprawling 62,000-seat Nanjing Olympic Sports Center.
Around 3,600 athletes, all aged 14 to 18 years, from 202 nations are gathered in this city for only the second staging of the YOG.
Only seven among them are Filipinos.
They are Bianca Roxas-Chua Gotuaco and Luis Gabriel Moreno of archery, Zion Rose Nelson of athletics, Roxanne Yu of swimming, Ava Loren Verdeflor of gymnastics, Victorija Evania Deldio of triathlon and Celdon Jude Arellano of shooting.
Moreno, the first among the Filipinos to qualify for this YOG, was designated as the Philippine flag-bearer. He said it’s an honor to play the role.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity both to compete in the YOG and be our flag-bearer,” said Moreno on the eve of the opening ceremony to be spiced by 90 minutes of songs, dances and cultural presentations.
Being one of the smallest delegations here doesn’t mean that the Filipinos are lacking the spirit to compete against the best youth athletes from around the world.
“Our athletes are here to compete against the best in their respective events. They are taking it seriously but they should also enjoy the moment being here,” said Philippine chef-de-mission Jonne Go.
“They only get to compete in the YOG once. These young athletes are the future. This is the Olympics for the youth and for all the athletes here this is the biggest stage,” she added.
The seven Filipino athletes worked hard to get here, the chef-de-mission stressed, and each one of them will go out to give best and vie for a medal.
“We are here to give our best,” said the 17-year-old Gotuaco after a visit to the Fangshan Archery Field Friday afternoon.
The host nation has the most number of athletes at 123 followed by Brazil with 97. Liechtenstein, an alpine country in Central Europe, and Monaco are fielding only one athlete each in swimming and judo, respectively.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach of Germany and Nanjing YOG organizing committee president Li Xueyong will deliver speeches during the opener.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia and International Olympic Committee representative to the Philippines Mikee Cojuangco Jaworski lead the group of Pinoy officials here.
From the original roster of 204 nations, two countries, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, pulled out in order to prevent the Ebola virus from West African from entering the host country.
But the IOC issued a statement Friday, saying, “Our thoughts are firstly with those who have been touched by the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa and the suffering of those affected and their families.”
The IOC and the organizing committee said it regrets the fact that some of the athletes “may have suffered twice, both from the anguish caused by the outbreak in their home countries and by not being able to compete in the Youth Olympic Games.”
Instead, the IOC offered to have the national flags of the two countries brought to the stadium for the opening ceremony and be hoisted at all venues as well.
For 12 days, competition will run in 14 different venues located within four zones in Nanjing.
After Saturday’s opening ceremony, the Filipino athletes plunge into action on Sunday in artistic gymnastics, triathlon and swimming.
The main venue, the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, is also known as the Olympic Park. It includes a 13,000-seat gymnasium, a 4,000-seat FINA standard aquatic center and a 4,000-seat tennis center.
Nanjing has rolled out the red carpet for this YOG.