Whose presidency can win Olympic gold?

While watching the tv coverage of the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Portland, and with the 2016 Olympics in Rio just around the corner, I was compelled to do a little research on the Philippine performance in the quadrennial Summer Games. And here is a most interesting trivia I stumbled upon - our beloved country leads all countries in the number of Olympic medals won... that is, among those that have never won the gold.

The Philippines has, as of last count, won nine medals -- two silvers and seven bronzes - but never a gold. The Philippines shares this fellowship with other non- gold winners like Afghanistan ( but of course) and Iraq ( but of course also), as well as with Bermuda, Botswana, Djibouti, Eritrea, Gabon, Guyana, and a few others of similar distinction.

Of course the traditional powers like the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain etc have raked in golds by the hundreds, so let us not even consider them in this narrative. But hey, would you believe our Philippines, the Pearl of the Orient, t he showcase of democracy in Asia, is no better in Olympic glory than Burundi which has one gold, Grenada with one, Suriname one, Trinidad and Tobago t wo, Uganda t wo; Cameroon t hree, Dominican Republic three, and Zimbabwe three?

Why, even war-torn Syria has won at least one gold. So what is it with the Philippines? Why is it that the Olympic gold is so elusive to us? It is difficult to put a finger on a single answer to this dilemma but here is a fact that might provide a clue to why we continue to score zero in the gold medal board: The Philippine effort toward winning an Olympic gold appears to consist mainly of a monetary reward to whoever wins a gold in the Olympics.

Offers of, at the very least, five million pesos, have constantly been offered either by government or the private sector or both, to no avail. And why would such a policy work? No amount of money can substitute proper

‘The Philippines should be like Ethiopia and Kenya. We should know the sporting disciplines where, if we are not on top of the heap, at least we have a very good fighting

shot at an Olympic gold.’

selection, proper training, proper diet, proper discipline, and whatever the hell it is that places an athlete in the proper position to have a credible fighting chance for a gold. To anchor our golden aspirations on monetary rewards is the most...