Filipino rower Cris Nievarez savors Olympic experience, looks to come back stronger
FILIPINO rower Cris Nievarez’s Tokyo Olympics campaign came to an end on Sunday, but he remains grateful for the opportunity given to him just as he vowed to use the experience he got to come back stronger and better in the sport.
The Quezon Province native saw action in the quarterfinals of the men’s single sculls event at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo where he finished fifth out of six competitors in his heat.
The result prevented him from advancing to the semifinals, where only the top three qualify, and meant the end of the push for him.
Despite falling short in his quest in his first-ever Olympics, 21-year-old Nievarez shared he still has a lot to be thankful for, including the chance to showcase Philippine rowing at the biggest stage.
“This is big for my experience. And I’m thankful for the chance I got here in the Tokyo Olympics. It will go a long way in helping to prepare me and be ready for future competitions. Hopefully, I can come back and compete in the next Olympics (in Paris in 2024),” Mr. Nievarez communicated to local media from Japan.
“Here, I was able to see the strengths of the other athletes and I also got see the aspects of my game that I have to improve on,” added the Philippine bet, who was the only qualifier in the men’s sculls event from Southeast Asia and one of two Asians who moved past the preliminaries.
For the Philippine Rowing Association (PRA), the performance of Mr. Nievarez in Tokyo is something to build on.
“He’s still young and this should only help him,” said PRA official Magnum Membrere. “He still has a lot ahead of him.”
Philippine rowing made its return in Tokyo after two decades. Before Mr. Nievarez, Benjamin Tolentino was the last Filipino rower to compete in the Olympics in 2000 in Sydney.
BARBOSA NOW BACK IN MANILA
Meanwhile, taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa was the first Filipino Tokyo Olympian back in the country following his campaign.
Mr. Barbosa and his team arrived in the Philippines on Sunday night after finishing his Olympic bid on Saturday.
He fell to Korean top seed Jun Jang in the opening round of the -58kg division, losing, 6-26, relegating him to the repechage.
Unfortunately for Mr. Barbosa, his hopes of at least salvaging a bronze medal through the repechage were dashed after Mr. Jun suffered an upset loss, 19-25, in the semifinals at the hands of Tunisia’s Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi. Had the Korean made it to the finals, Mr. Barbosa would have seen action still and vie for a podium finish.
Also ending his campaign was shooter Jayson Valdez, who finished 44th out of 47 competitors in the 10m rifle shooting competition with a total of 612.6 points. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
