THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will hire a top American conditioning coach to oversee the preparations of Harry Tañamor, the only Filipino boxer to qualify for this year’s Beijing Olympics.

The conditioning coach will take care of Tañamor while he trains in the US, according to PSC chairman William Ramirez Wednesday.

Ramirez and Manny Lopez, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, will accompany Tañamor in the US.

“We’re giving him [Tañamor] our all-out support,” said Ramirez. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that with only one boxer in Beijing, we don’t have a chance there. In 2004 England was able to send only one boxer to the Athens Olympics, but he made it to the finals and went home with the silver medal.”

Ramirez said the US training will be Tañamor’s final preparation for the Olympics.

Tañamor clinched an Olympic slot with his silver-medal finish in last year’s World Boxing Championship in Chicago, Illinois. He is currently in Cuba to participate in two high-level competitions—the Cordova Cardin Cup scheduled from April 18 to 24 and the Roberto Balado Cup from April 26 to May 2.

Besides Tañamor, the other Filipinos who qualified to the Beijing Games are swimmers Miguel Molina, Daniel Coakley, James Walsh, Ryan Arabejo and Christel Simms; divers Sheila Mae Perez and Ryan Rexel Fabriga; taekwondo jins Tshomlee Go and Mary Antoinette Rivero; archer Mark Javier; and shooter Eric Ang.

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