HER push to make it to the Olympic Games in Tokyo down to one last shot later this year, national karate team member Jamie Lim said she remains undeterred and looking to make things happen in her quest.
Speaking on The Chasedown program on Saturday, Ms. Lim said the road to Summer Games for her has been made difficult by the coronavirus pandemic as training had been limited to virtual sessions and individual workouts, but she believes there is still time to make up for it to prepare and qualify.
“It’s going to be [tough] as everybody who hasn’t qualified in the Olympics will try to qualify there,” said the medaled karateka, referring to the last Olympic qualifier to be held in Paris, France, on June.
“But we will try our best. I’m going to do everything I can,” she added.
To help in her push, Ms. Lim will be among the athletes entering the training “bubble” for national athletes at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, set to begin later this week.
The athletes will stay in the facility for the next couple of months to fortify their game as they vie for spots in the Olympics in the qualifiers lined up in the months leading to it.
It is an opportunity that Ms. Lim, son of Philippine Basketball Association legend and former national athlete Samboy Lim, welcomes, seeing it as further elevating her preparation.
“Training continued for me even during the lockdown, but I’m excited and getting ready to enter the bubble. I’m aware of the protocols and they seem to be fine,” she said.
Ms. Lim also shared that apart from the bubble training in Calamba, the karate team is also up for training abroad as well as competitions.
In the Paris qualifier, the Philippines will field in six karatekas — three male and three female athletes.
Prior to having it challenging in 2020, Ms. Lim had a banner on 2019, winning gold medals at the Amator Spor Haftasi Karate Championships in Turkey and at the 30th Southeast Asian Games held here. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
