Cris Nievarez
Rower Cris Nievarez has punched a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics after making the cut in a qualifier held also in the Japanese capital. But now begins the hard part: He only has about eight weeks to build muscle strength, endurance and hone his technique to have a fighting chance against the world’s best. “These are things that I have to improve on, so I could keep up with the stronger rowers from other countries,” Nievarez said during a recent Philippine Sportswriters Association forum after becoming the eighth entry of Team Philippines in the coming Games. He is competing in the men’s single sculls (M1x), an open event where size and speed matter. At 5-foot-11, Nievarez may seem taller than most Filipinos, but in Tokyo the 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist will be pitted against taller and bulkier rivals, including Rio 2016 gold medalist Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and silver medalist Damir Martin of Croatia. Also among the early favorites he’s facing are Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic and Belgium’s Hannes Obreno, who all clocked below seven minutes on a regular basis.