Filipino rowers grinding to end long Olympic absence

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino rowers are pushing hard as they navigate rough water in a spirited bid to make it back to the Olympics after 20 years.

SEAG lightweight double sculls women's champ Melcah Jen Caballero and Joanie Delgaco and men’s aces Cris Nievarez and Roque Abala are doing their best to gear up under difficult circumstances to nab Philippines rowing’s first Olympic stint since Benjie Tolentino in Sydney.

“The past months have been tough for the athletes. But it's good to see that our rowers are coping fairly well during these hard times,” Philippine Rowing Association president Pato Gregorio told The STAR.

Nievarez and Delgaco have been staying at the team’s quarters near the La Mesa Training Facility and managed to get some training under foreign coach Shukrat Ganiev. However, Abala and Caballero have been with the AFP since March.

“One of the biggest challenges for us was there was no detailed service (DS) order for our military athletes and coaches. Melcah and Roque haven't been able to join their respective partners who have been training continuously,” said Gregorio.

“We hope that it will be approved soon so they can start preparing for their upcoming Olympic qualifying events.”

Caballero informed the STAR she’s devoted time training while off-duty.

“I set some self-training routines and exercises to cope up with the training I lost. I even borrowed some training equipment and machine from my team to make sure I can still train during my free time from work,” she said.

The Pinoy rowers will get their crack in the FISA Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta in April 2021 and the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland on May 16-18, 2021. 

“Our goal of qualifying to the Olympics is firm. We will not let this COVID 19 take away our dream to book a ticket to the Olympics,” said Caballero, who with Delgaco placed fourth in the 2019 Asian Rowing Championship before her double gold feat in the SEAG.

“We’ve been working for years and with the big help and support from our association, I know we’ll be able to perform our best in the qualifying. We are much more motivated and excited to bounce back in our training,” she added.

Gregorio said the association is upbeat of the chances of their bets.

"We're confident about their chances. The LW2X pair of Melcah and Joanie placed fourth in the Asian Rowing Championships behind China, South Korea and Iran and they were the only Southeast Asian crew in the Top 5," said Gregorio.

"Our men's doubles are also gold (Nievarez in singles) and bronze medalists (Abala in doubles). We're happy that coach Ganiev, who started coaching them just before the SEAG last year, will continue to train them in preparation for the qualifying."