IOC ruling to boost RP's golden quest

Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit yesterday said the country may field more athletes in this year's Sydney Olympics without going through the usual qualifying tournaments.

"We're happy with this development considering that it will bolster our chance of winning RP's first ever Olympic gold medal," said Dayrit after being informed by the International Olympic Committee that it is opening berths in seven sports for the Sydney Games.

These events are archery, judo, shooting, lawn tennis, weightlifting, taekwondo and triathlon.

But the POC must submit its recommendations and get approval from a tripartite body organized by the IOC, Association of National Olympic Committee and the International Federation.

Dayrit said he has yet to meet with the NSAs (National Sports Associations) involved before coming up with a certain number of athletes but hinted they might recommend about eight to nine athletes to the IOC body.

According to the POC chief, they may recommend three or four in shooting, two in judo, Maricris Fernandez of tennis and three in archery namely Christian Cubilla, Purita Joy Mariño and Marifi Martinez, who made strong finishes in the Asian Archery Championship and the Olympic Qualifying tournament last year.