2012, an Olympic year

Happy New Year!

As we are about to bid goodbye to the year 2011, let us not forget the lessons learned and reminisce the wonderful experiences.

Okay, you can also list down resolutions, but I hope that you would really work hard to be true to those resolutions.

I’ve stopped writing down resolutions for many years now as it is often an exercise in futility. If you want to change, you don’t have to wait for January 1 to do it. As the famous Nike tagline says it – Just do it!

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The year 2012 is a leap year, but that is not the reason why it is that interesting for me. Each time there is a leap year there is also the Summer Olympics.

Just in case you’ve lived some place where there are no newspapers, no radio, no TV, and no Internet, the host of the 2012 Olympics is the City of London.

Although I have no hopes to being there to watch the competitions, I will have to enjoy the London Olympics via television and the Internet.

The Philippines will once again try to win a gold medal in the Olympics. As in the previous Games, we will again fail and I don’t need to consult cards or a crystal ball to say that.

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London will be hosting the Olympics for the third time. It first hosted the quadrennial sports meet in 1908 and was also designated host of the 1944 Olympics, which did not take place due to World War II.

The first post-war Olympics were held in London in 1948.

The Philippines did not yet take part in the 1908 Games and first saw action in 1924, but won something only in the 1928 Olympics courtesy of Teofilo Yldefonso in the men’s 200-M breaststroke.

In the 1948 Games, the Philippines won zilch in London and I hope that even if we won’t strike gold this year, we can at least bring home a medal.

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The country’s Olympic gold medal dream may have remained as one, but twice, we have already struck gold in demonstration sports. This means that these are not official Olympic events, but were included in the schedule as a prerogative of the host.

In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, bowler Arianne Cerdeña was first to win a gold medal.

We had a repeat in the 2008 Beijing Olympics when Willy Wang won a gold medal in wushu.

When we will one that real counts remains a question that nobody can answer, but I’m sure many are striving to make that happen soon.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings go to Sr. Supt. John Enguerra, Cavalier Simon Fernan III of the Interpol, Arsenio ‘Dodong’ Pelicano, Jade Macaambac, Jocerie Aragon-Martinez, Gina Gabiana-Nacorda, and Lyndon Angan.

Advance greetings go to my aunt Marydel Quiñones-Miranda, Sergio ‘Boy’ Gonzalez, Janice Advincula, and Alain Linaac, who are celebrating tomorrow.

More power to all of you!