Filipina Olympian rower 'starstruck' during competition

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipina rower Joanie Delgaco admitted being starstruck by her opponents in the women’s single sculls on Saturday as she made her Olympic debut.

Delgaco on Saturday afternoon (Manila time), finished fourth in Heat 2 after maintaining a top-three position through the race's first one kilometer.

But in the final half the 26-year-old faltered and ended up fourth, which relegated her to the repechage round.

She finished behind the Dutch Karolien Florijn, Swiss Aurelia-maxima Katharina Janzen and Slovenian Nina Kostanjsek.

In an interview posted by One Sports on Saturday, Delgaco said she was happy to compete against the top rowers in the world.

“Na-excite ako kasi first time kong makakatapat iyong mga talagang nagta-top talaga sa world sa rowing. Kanina tinitignan ko iyong top 1 sa world, sabi ko grabe, ito talaga iyong unang race at unang Olympics ko na nakatapat ko talaga siya,” she said.

“Na-starstruck talaga ako sa kaniya kanina. Sabi ko kahit makasabayan ko lang ito sa ilang meters, sobrang saya ko na,” she added.

But now, she will be refocusing on making the next round of the competition as she rows her boat in the repechage round set at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

There, the top two of each repechage will qualify to the quarterfinals. The remainder will go to the semifinals E/F.

Delgaco bared that things were easier at the start of her run, but got heavier down the stretch.

“Nung unang 1,000 [meters] magaan pa iyong pakiramdam ko. Nung papasok na ng 1,500 and papunta na sa finish line, pabigat nang pabigat na iyong nafi-feel ko,” she said.

“So kanina, pinu-push ko talaga na i-hold iyong pangatlo, so yun, kinulang. Nahabol ako ng Slovenia. Pero bukas, bawi ako for the repechage.”

The first Filipina rower to qualify for the Olympics also thanked fans back home for their support.