Olympic-bound rower Cris Nievarez leads over 700 athletes in getting COVID-19 jabs

MANILA, Philippines — Rower Cris Nievarez became the third Tokyo Olympics-bound Filipino athlete to get inoculated after he was one of the 730 who received jabs during Friday’s vaccination of national team members seeing action in the Summer Games in July and Hanoi Southeast Asian Games in November.

Nievarez, who received his jab at the Manila Prince Hotel in Ermita, thus joined boxer Eumir Marcial and 2016 weightlifting Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz as among Olympians who already got inoculated.

Marcial, who is currently in Dubai competing in the ASBC Championships, got his in Los Angeles early this year while Diaz received it in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she has been training since last year.

“Medyo nakakapanibago at the same time kampante na po utak namin na makapag-ensayo nang maganda, mas protektado na,” said the 21-year-old 2019 SEA Games gold medal winner.

National team members were given vaccines after government recently put them in the A4 priority list alongside essential workers, frontliner government employees and uniformed personnel.

It was in response to SEA Games host Vietnam’s decision last week to implement a “no vaccine, no play” policy in the biennial event.

National testing czar Vince Dizon, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham Tolentino graced the event along with other top sports officials including Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) board member Charles Maxie and Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) chief Cynthia Carrion-Norton.

Also getting jabs are several members of the Para national team, including wheelchair racer Jerrold Pete Mangliwan, who made the Tokyo Paralympics standard and is just awaiting confirmation if he will get a spot.

Tolentino said they are coordinating with local government units for those who are in the provinces.

Meanwhile, Carrion-Norton said Tokyo-bound gymnast Caloy would receive his vaccines only after the quadrennial event since a jab before the games could affect his training.

“Hindi na mapipilit yun, hindi naman mandatory sa Tokyo eh,” said Tolentino, who is also a Tagaytay congressman and PhilCycling head.