Ramirez first RP gymnast to reach final

While some fellow athletes may have gone home to rest, gymnast Roel Ramirez plunged back into training yesterday, barely three days since he returned from a memorable stint in the 15th Asian Games in Doha.

Ramirez was enjoying a short break in training at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex when he talked about the Asian Games where he became the first Filipino ever to reach the finals of a gymnastics event.

"I’m happy with my performance. For us, it’s already a record because no Filipino gymnast has even reached the finals in the Asian Games," said the 24-year-old athlete from Naga City.

Ramirez finished sixth in the vault-horse event where only eight of the 40 participants from 20 countries reached the final. He was the lone Filipino gymnast in Doha.

"While the others had teammates to lean on, I was all alone. But it was okay. I had coach Sonny Ty with me," said Ramirez, third-year college student at University of the East.

It was the second Asian Games stint for Ramirez who did not do well in Busan in 2002 because of an injury he sustained when he slipped inside the RMSC shower room two months before the Games.

Ramirez won two gold medals in the vault-horse and floor exercise of 2005 Manila SEA Games, and added a silver in the high-bars, and two bronze medals in the all-around and team event.

Wearing a red Liverpool shorts and piercings on his left ear and tongue, Ramirez said he couldn’t afford a long break since he’s preparing for three big events next year.

This coming April, Ramirez will compete in the Pacific Alliance Championships in Hawaii, heading to two more big events — the 24th SEA Games in Thailand, and one in the Netherlands.

While he’s focused on the SEA Games, Ramirez said the tournament in the Netherlands is also a can‚t-miss event since it will be the last qualifying event for individual entries to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Ramirez is not qualified to join the two other qualifiers because they are reserved for team events. In the Netherlands, he‚d try his luck in in pommel horse, vault, rings, high and parallel bars and floor exercise.

And he‚s wasting no time gearing up for these competitions.