RIDING OUT THE STORM

Arnis and Dancesports kicked off the golden onslaught for the country, with the Philippine martial arts emerging as the most bemedalled competition for the country

The 2019 staging of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines has left the region in awe as Filipino athletes displayed uncanny resiliency — hurdling all delays, controversies and even a tropical storm.

The Filipino athletes showcased gold-medal performances that easily erased the nightmare of the dismal showing they presented in the 2017 SEA Games stint — a measly 24-gold production despite the 497 athletes, 163 sporting officials and 70 administrative and medical staff present in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Arnis and Dancesports kicked off the golden onslaught for the country, with the Philippine martial arts emerging as the most bemedalled competition for the country — snatching 14 out of 20 gold medals in the biennial meet.

Dancesports, on the other hand, gained 10 gold medals to kick off the Philippines’ campaign for the overall championship title it last tasted in 2005 when the country hosted the 11-member countries’ biennial competition.

Many firsts

Those spectacular performances became the pivotal point for the rest of the Philippine contingent to strive hard and put the country back on the SEA Games map as a force to reckon with.

One after another, Filipino athletes thrived in their respective competitions and delivering the gold and much more — the hope that this staging may become a turning point for the improvement of Philippine sports.

The staging also saw the country’s first gold medal in swimming after 10 years courtesy of James Deiparine’s thrilling win in the 100m breaststroke event. In the process, it gave the Philippines its first record-breaking feat in this staging of the biennial meet.

The Obstacle Course — a relatively new sport introduced in the SEA Games — has also become a veritable gold mine as all Pinoy athletes who were fielded yielded unexpected — but most welcome — golden triumphs.

The country has done well in center piece sports such as athletics, basketball and billiards — where heroes, old and new, continue to make the country proud.

Like riders on the storm, the Filipino athletes march on.