A celebration of Philippine sporting excellence takes center stage on Jan. 27 as the country’s Olympic and Paralympic heroes from the 2024 Paris Games will be honored at the San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards Night at The Manila Hotel Grand Ballroom.
Marking the centennial of the country’s participation in the Olympics, the PSA, led by president Nelson Beltran of the Philippine Star, will also pay tribute to Filipino Olympians from the past six decades.
Representatives from each Olympic batch, organized by the Philippine Olympians Association, will grace the occasion.
Previous Olympic teams and their representatives are Mildred Canete (1964 Tokyo); Ernesto Bren and Jaime Mariano (1968 Mexico); Freddie Webb, Marte Samson, Ricardo Fortaleza, and Gerardo Rosario (1972 Munich); Reynaldo Fortaleza (1976 Montreal); Christine Jacob-Sandejas (1984 Los Angeles); Akiko Thomson Guevara, Stephen Fernandez, Edgardo Maerina, Benjamin McMurray, Gregorio Colonia, and Manuel Monsour del Rosario (1988 Seoul); and Roel Velasco, Isidro Vicera, Juan Miguel Torres, Jaime Recio, Ed Lasquete, Walter Torres, and Beatriz Lucero (1992 Barcelona).
Representing the 1996 Atlanta batch are Mansueto Velasco Jr., Elias Recaido and Amparo Lim; Jenny Guerrero, Roberto Cruz, Donald Geisler, Jasmin Strachan Simpao, Benjamin Tolentino and Marie Antoinette Leviste for 2000 Sydney; Raphael Matthew Chua and Jethro Dionisio for 2004 Athens; and Eric Ang, and Marestella Torres Sunang for 2008 Beijing.
The rest are Jessie Lacuna, Rene Herrera, Jasmine Alkhaldi (2012 London); Kirstie Elaine Alora, Mary Joy Tabal, Charly Suarez and Rogen Ladon (2016 Rio De Janeiro); and Cris Marasigan Niervaez and Kurt Barbosa (2020 Tokyo).
The 2024 Paris Olympians, including EJ Obiena, Lauren Hoffman, Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial and Bianca Pagdanganan, will take the spotlight alongside Paralympians Jerrold Mangliwan, Ernie Gawilan and Angel Otom.
Athlete of the Year honors will go to gymnastics sensation Carlos Yulo for his double-gold performance in Paris while boxing icons Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas headline the major awardees.
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the country’s first Olympic gold medalist, will be enshrined in the PSA Hall of Fame during the ceremony supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, PLDT/Smart, Senator Bong Go, Januarius Holdings, PBA, PVL, 1-Pacman party-list, Rain or Shine, Akari, and AcroCity. (PNA)
