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| (Image Source: Philippine Olympians Association) |
Since the 1924 Paris Olympics, more than 400 Filipino athletes have been exerting their efforts, showcasing their prowess and progress, and striving to do the best they can to make their fellow kababayans proud. These have seen action through the years in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and slated to be added in the list of these great Filipino athletes are nineteen from eleven different sports disciplines who are set to compete in the Tokyo Olympic Games led by four-time Olympian and 2016 Rio Olympics weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz.
Looking forward to one of the biggest and most highly-anticipated sporting events of the year amidst the continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino sports fans can now explore the efforts and achievements of the Filipino Olympians before them through The Living Archive Of Olympians PH, a digital archive website made through the efforts of the Philippine Olympians Association (POA) and catalogs the journeys of Filipino Olympians through the years. Accessible via philippineolympians.org, the website features an archive of medalists and featured Olympians as well as everything about the Philippine Olympians Association, including its newsletter and affiliation with the World Olympians Association.
With the support of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and MILO, The Living Archive Of Olympians PH intends to provide a comprehensive database on the rare breed of athletes who have represented the Philippines in the 1924 Paris Olympics. “It’s a legacy project of the POA. We believe stories are powerful. But if they are not documented, not shared, these stories will be forgotten. By collating it and making it accessible to all, we will inspire the future generation of Olympians,’’ said POA President Akiko Thomson-Guevarra. However, the three-time Olympian in swimming admits that compiling information on the country's Olympic history has its challenges. “It’s a work in progress. Researchers had a hard time finding pictures of our Olympians and for some of our Olympians, the data is very sparse. We hope that as our website is viewed and shared, this will reach the relatives of Olympians who will help us with the information that we don’t have,” Thomson-Guevarra added. She also shared that the POA reached out to the Olympics Studies Center for the website's existing database and is slated to be updated once information on new Olympians and medalists come in.
The digital launch of the website coincided with the Philippines' celebration of Olympic Day and was graced by POA Chairman Rafael "Paing" Hechenova; POC President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino; POC Deputy Secretary General For NSA, Government & Athletes Affairs Karen Caballero, POA treasurer Stephen Fernandez and POA board member Weena Lim. Joining them are Tokyo Olympian Kurt Barbosa of taekwondo and his coach Carlos Padilla as well as Nestle Philippines AVP and MILO Sports Manager Lester Castillo.
