Special night for Philippines' Olympians

MANILA, Philippines — A huge toast is in store for the country’s best-ever showing in the Olympics and to the rest of the top performers of 2024 tonight with the much-awaited staging of the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards Night at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel.

Gymnast sensation Carlos Yulo is the star of the night as the well-deserved recipient of the Athlete of the Year award from the country’s oldest media organization under the leadership of its president Nelson Beltran, sports editor of The Philippine STAR.

Yulo, the 24-year-old pride of Leveriza, Manila, carved out the Philippines’ first ever double gold medal during the Paris Olympics in a fitting highlight to the country’s centennial participation in the quadrennial showcase.

The historic feat deserves no less than a grand celebration in the biggest PSA Awards Night ever mounted by the sports writing community and co-presented by ArenaPlus, Cignal, and MediaQuest.

Awards proper starts at 7 p.m.

With the theme ‘Golden Year, Golden Centenary,’ the formal event that counts a total of 117 awardees, will have our treasured Olympians serving as the special guest of honor and to be recognized for their hard work and sacrifices in representing the Philippines at the highest level of sports.

Members of the Philippine team to the Olympics in the last 60 years will be represented by their respective batches and join the 2024 Olympic contingent to the French capital, along with the Paris Paralympic Games delegation in sharing center stage during the program made possible by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Milo, PLDT/Smart, and Sen. Bong Go, with support from the PBA, PVL, 1-Pacman party-list, Rain or Shine, Akari, and AcroCity.

Former senator Freddie Webb, who played for the men’s basketball team in the 1968 (Mexico) and 1972 (Munich) Olympics, is the keynote speaker and will speak on behalf of all the Olympians.