PSC taps Keon for RP athletes’ Asiad training

Michael Keon, who had sparked a renaissance in local sports with his Project Gintong Alay concept in the 1980s, has been tapped to oversee the preparation of the country’s representatives to the 2002 Asian Games.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Tuason announced yesterday the appointment of Keon as the PSC’s training director for the Asian Games next year in Pusan, South Korea.

In appointing Keon, Tuason expressed confidence that both the PSC and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) would be able to get the needed inputs, which would go into the formulation of a scientific program for what is expected to be another compact but potent contingent.

"Mr. Keon will definitely be an asset to Team Philippines considering his good track record," Tuason said. "He’s going to play a very important role in the preparation of the contingent."

Keon will be given special powers by the PSC to monitor athletes being trained by the various National Sports Associations. Keon, along with the POC and the NSAs, will determine the athletes with the best chances of winning a medal in the Asiad. The PSC will also recommend exposure stints, both local and international, that would further enhance their potential.

The rise to fame of such local legends as Lydia de Vega, Isidro del Prado, Hector Begeo, Pia Tamayo of tennis, Billy Wilson of swimming, and the famed Guerrero sisters of archery is always credited to the training they got under Keon’s Gintong Alay project.

Keon’s reign marked a glorious ascendance of the Philippines in regional athletics, a time when they regularly won no less than eight gold medals in every SEAG from 1980 to 1986 not to mention the Asian Games and other regional competitions.

"Mr. Keon has always been known to be an expert in talent search and that’s what we’ll be needing from him. We will be working hand in hand with the POC to make sure the athletes get the right preparation," Tuason said.

The 47-year-old Keon is a former track and field star in the UAAP with the 5,000 and 10,000 among his favorite distances.