Not close to a medal

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz was the only bright star in the Philippine galaxy of 13 athletes at the recent Rio Olympics as nobody else came close to a podium finish. If not for Diaz, the Philippine delegation would’ve returned home with another big, fat egg – a habit from the 2000 Games to the 2012 edition spanning a barren period of over a decade.

Let’s review how the 12 other athletes performed. In the 400-meter hurdles, Fil-Am Eric Cray clocked 49.05 seconds to finish third of eight in his heat. There were 47 contestants in six heats and Cray was among 24 who made it to the semifinals. The 24 qualifiers were then split into three groups of eight. Cray timed 49.37 seconds to finish seventh of eight in his semifinal bracket. The only one he outran in his semifinal group was Great Britain’s Jack Green who finished at 49.54. Overall, he was No. 17 of 24. The qualifying time for the last final slot was 48.64 by Rasmus Magi of Estonia so Cray was 0.9 of a second off the mark. Nine others had faster times than Cray and didn’t also advance. Cray’s personal best is 48.98 which he set in Madrid last June. Even if he matched his personal best, it wouldn’t have been fast enough to break into the final.

American Kerron Clement took the gold medal with a time of 47.73. The world and Olympic record is 46.78 set by American Kevin Young at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

In women’s marathon, Mary Joy Tabal checked in at 3:02.27 to finish No. 124 of 133 finishers. At least, she crossed the finish line, something that 24 other starters failed to do. Among those who surrendered were runners from Kazakhstan, two from Spain, two from Portugal, Serbia, Ethiopia, France and Italy. Tabal’s time was far from impressive. Only 13 of the 133 finishers clocked three hours or more and she was in that company.

Tabal’s personal best is 2:43.31 so her time in Rio was surprisingly slow. Was she burned out? PATAFA president Philip Juico had warned Tabal that participating in marathons as often as she does in a year could result in fatigue. Track legend Dick Beardsley said two to three marathons a year would be the limit to avoid burning out but Tabal, in an effort to earn more money to support her estranged parents and siblings, pushed herself to participate in five to six. Kenya’s Jemima Sumgong took the gold medal in the event with a time of 2:24.04. The bronze medalist crossed at 2:24.30, more than 30 minutes ahead of Tabal.

In women’s long jump, Marestella Torres registered leaps of 6.22, 6.10 and 6.15 meters. There were 38 contestants and her best distance of 6.22 was good for only No. 28 over bets from Spain, Brazil, Japan, Greece and Uzbekistan. Only the top 12 advanced to the final, leaving Torres and 25 others behind.

No one jumped at least seven meters in the preliminaries where the last qualifier posted 6.53, way over Torres’ mark. In the final, American Tianna Bartoletta claimed the gold with a jump of 7.17. The three podium finishers all registered leaps of over seven meters. The world record is 7.52 set by Russia’s Galina Chistyakova in 1988. Torres’ best distance is 6.72 which she set in Kazakhstan last July. If only she equalled her personal best, Torres would’ve made it to the final in Rio.

It was Torres’ third Olympic appearance. At 35, she said it was her last. Torres, however, will continue to compete at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games where she has won four gold medals. Torres gave birth and nursed a hamstring injury then tried to snatch a fifth SEA Games gold last year only to stumble with a bronze. Torres plans to go out with a bang in the SEA Games next year.

In men’s judo, Fil-Japanese Kodo Nakano was a late addition to the delegation. He didn’t qualify for Rio but got his ticket on an invitation from the International Judo Federation after Iranian Alireza Khojasteh backed out. Khojasteh was listed in the 66 kilogram division. His withdrawal created an extra slot for Asia and the federation chose Nakano to fill in despite his classification in the 81 kilogram class. At the 2012 London Olympics, another Fil-Japanese Tomohiko Hoshina competed in the +100 kilogram division with a continental allocation invitation. Like Nakano, Hoshina didn’t qualify for London but made it as a wildcard invitee.

Hoshina was a bust in London. He was downed by South Korea’s Kim Sung Min in one minute and five seconds, the second quickest ending in his category, via an ippon. Nakano was also eliminated in his first outing in Rio. He survived a few seconds longer than Hoshina but his dismissal was just as disheartening, also via an ippon. Nakano bowed out in one minute and 19 seconds to Italy’s Matteo Marconcini. Neither Hoshina nor Nakano scored a point.

You can’t blame Hoshina or Nakano for accepting the invitation to perform in the Olympics. After all, they didn’t ask for it. The invitation was offered and it’s an honor to be an Olympian. How they performed was a letdown. It took less time for them to stay standing on the mat than eating breakfast. We know it’s not all about winning, it’s also about participating. However, Olympians are expected to participate with a reasonable level of competitiveness. The man who vanquished Nakano went on to battle for the bronze medal and lost. The gold medal went to Russia’s Khasan Khalmurzaev who won five bouts in a row to finish on top of the 81 kilogram heap.

More on the Filipino Rio Olympians in Sunday’s column.