Work begins for 2028 LA Olympics

PARIS — First gold medal in Tokyo back-to-back with two golds in Paris is too tough a task to follow, according to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

“That’s why work for Los Angeles in 2028 starts now,” said Tolentino who for the first time on Thursday put together weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, who won the Philippines’ first Olympic gold in Tokyo, and gymnast Carlos Yulo, who doubled the harvest in Paris.

Together, they posed for an iconic photograph along the banks of the Seine River with the Eiffel Tower as witness.

Gymnastics, weightlifting and boxing are the most potential sources of Olympic gold medals with Tolentino saying that in the next Olympic cycle, other sports could be given elite treatment.

“The template applied in weightlifting, gymnastics and boxing has been tested and proven again in Paris,” said Tolentino on the formula for success in sports – a squad of coaches, strength and conditioning experts, physiotherapists, nutritionists, among others.

“The POC will be encouraging national sports associations to apply a similar template,” he said.

There are 32 sports being played at the Paris Olympics that are bound to be on the LA28 program. Tolentino said that there are more than a dozen where Filipino athletes could win medals.

“Shooting, archery and taekwondo, to name a few,” said Tolentino, who’s also confident cycling, which he also heads, could be coming out of the horizon.

An International Cycling Union-standard 250-meter indoor velodrome is expected to be completed in mid-2025 in Tagaytay City, where Tolentino is mayor.

“Twelve gold medals, six men and six women, are staked in track cycling here in Paris, that’s a lot of opportunities,” Tolentino said.