|
THE
Filipino divers bound for the 2008 Beijing
Olympics—Sheila Mae Perez and Rexel Ryan Fabriga—will
compete in two more international events to hone for the
August Summer Games.
Diving
coach Rommel Kong said they are looking at Fina,
swimming’s world governing body, Diving Grand Prix
tournaments in Montreal, Canada, in Fort Lauderdale in
Florida, United States, or in Mexico in May.
 “Hopefully,
makasali pa kami doon. Iba talaga ’yung training
exposure. Masusubukan mo ’yung mga dives na mataas
ang degree of difficulty,” said Kong.
Perez
and Fabriga are taking a two-week break before returning
to training at the Trace Aquatic Center in Los Baños,
Laguna, after qualifying for the Olympic Games in
Beijing
recently.
Perez
placed 17th among more than a hundred participants in
the three-meter springboard of the Fina World Cup.
Fabriga finished fourth in the third phase of the
10-meter platform.
The
divers will return to
China
in June. Beijing Olympic organizers have also set July
27 as a training day for all Olympic divers at the
Beijing National Aquatic Centre—known as the “Watercube”
because of its cube-shaped stadium, which could seat
17,000 people.
Perez
and Fabriga are the only handful of Filipino athletes
who have earned Beijing Olympic slots so far. Boxing has
only one at the moment—Harry Tañamor—while swimming has
the most number of entries, led by 24th Southeast Asian
Games Best Athlete Miguel Molina.
The
other sports where Filipinos are vying in the Olympics
are taekwondo, archery and athletics. |
