3:29 am | Sunday, July 22nd, 2012
LONDON—In its first official act as member of the London Olympic family, Team Philippines will join several other nations in the traditional welcome and flag-raising rites on Saturday inside the sprawling Games Village, home to more than 15,000 athletes and officials from 204 nations in the next three weeks.
Nine athletes and a handful of officials as well as some guests from the PH embassy and Filipino community will be in attendance during the morning program as Team PH and at least 10 other countries join the traditional ceremony ahead of the Games’ opening on July 27.
Only boxer Mark Anthony Barriga and BMX rider Danny Caluag will not be around for the event.
According to Team PH chief of mission Manny Lopez, ambassador Enrique Manalo will grace the affair.
“This (flag raising) is our first official act as member of the London Olympic family,” said Lopez, who arrived on Wednesday to pave the way for the arrival of the Filipino athletes and officials at the Village.
In another highlight, an athlete each from the countries joining the ritual this morning will sign on the Olympic Truce Wall, which forms the backdrop for the ceremonies set at the Plaza in the heart of the Village.
Lopez said long jumper Marestella Torres will most likely do the honor for Team PH, being a two-time Olympian. The PH team supported by ICTSI, Bank of Philippine Islands, Mizuno, Samsonite, Petron, Procter & Gamble, PSC, Philracom, Smart Sports and TV5.
Barriga and Caluag won’t make it because they have yet to conclude their final buildup, with the boxer still training in Cardiff, Wales, and the cyclist honing his skills in the Netherlands. They will join their teammates on July 24.
Aside from Torres, who first saw action in the Beijing Olympics, the other athletes attending the program are archers Mark Javier and Rachel Cabral, swimmers Jessie Lacuna and Jasmine Alkhaldi, judoka Tomohiko Hoshina, weighlifter Hidilyn Diaz, long distance runner Rene Herrera and shooter Brian Rosario.
Coaches Josefina Corral (shooting), Tony Agustin (weighlifting), Joseph Sy (athletics), Yasuhiro Sato (judo), Carlos Brosas (swimming), administrative officer Arsenic Lacson and press officer Joe S. Antonio will also attend the program.
Tags: Danny Caluag , London 2012 Olympics , Mark Anthony Barriga , Olympics , Team PH
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| POS | COUNTRY | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
| 1 | United States | 46 | 29 | 29 | 104 |
| 2 | China | 38 | 27 | 23 | 88 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 29 | 17 | 19 | 65 |
| 4 | Russia | 24 | 26 | 32 | 82 |
| 5 | South Korea | 13 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| 6 | Germany | 11 | 19 | 14 | 44 |
| 7 | France | 11 | 11 | 12 | 34 |
| 8 | Italy | 8 | 9 | 11 | 28 |
| 9 | Hungary | 8 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| 10 | Australia | 7 | 16 | 12 | 35 |
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, though not competing, carries the Philippine flag at the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Mary Antoinette Rivero's tie for fifth place in Taekwondo is the closest any Filipino athlete came to a medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Harry Tañamor, the only Filipino predicted to win by the Sports Illustrated in its Olympic Preview edition, bows out in the first match up in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Arianne Cerdena won a gold in bowling at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but Cerdena's gold was not included in the medal tally since bowling was considered only as a demonstration sport.
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The Philippines has only won medals in three events since joining the Olympics in 1924.
The Philippine basketball team wound up fifth place—best finish for an Asian country in the Olympics to date—in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the first time basketball was played as an Olympic sport.
John Baylon, a nine-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, and Jerry Diño were the last Filipino Olympic qualifiers in the discipline Judo, having vied in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
1972 was the last year the Philippine men's basketball team, which then paraded William 'Bogs' Adornado, Danny Florencio and Yoyong Martirez among others in its line up, has qualified for the Olympics.
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The Philippines last reached the final round swimming 80 years ago when Jikirum Adjaluddin and Teofilo Yldefonso ended up in the final six in the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
The Philippines participated in the Winter Olympics three times, in 1972 (Juan Cipriano and Ben Nanasca, alpine skiing), in 1988 (Raymund Ocampo, luge) and in 1992 (Michael Teruel, alpine skiing).
The Philippines has not won a medal since Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco settled for silver in boxing via a controversial decision during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Men's boxing has for medals in the Olympics with Anthony Villanueva, silver in the Featherweight Division of the 1964 Games in Tokyo; Leopoldo Serantes, third in 1988 Seoul; Roel Velasco, third in Barcelona; and his brother Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco, second in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The Philippines is the first country to compete and win an Olympic medal among Southeast Asian countries.
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The largest delegation the Philippines has ever sent to the Games was 53 in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
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