Pinoy Paralympians gear up for London Games

The Philippines could still win a medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. But this time, the nation’s hopes are in the Philippine Paralympic team. The country will be sending its largest ever contingent for the Games with nine Paralympians making the trip to London in time for the opening ceremonies next Wednesday, August 29.

Few embody that spirit more than Filipina weightlifter Adeline Dumapong, who was the first Philippine Paralympian to win a medal at the Games. Dumapong, who is suffering from polio, competed in the under 82.5kg weight class in 2000, lifting 120kg to win bronze. Since then, she has stepped up to the full weight class, over 82.5kg, and is set to compete in London as one of the top five women in her sport, giving the Philippines a real chance at winning another medal.

After trying a variety of sports, Dumapong switched to powerlifting at the suggestion of a friend. Speaking of how she got into powerlifting, the Cagayan de Oro-native shared that she found it fun because she could beat the men.

“[It was] an opportunity to beat the men and when I started beating them, I was hooked,” said Dumapong, as the athletes graced the Paralympic Games exhibit sponsored by the British Embassy in Manila.

Hoping for another medal, Adeline was cautious about her prospects at the games saying that, “Anything can happen, I’ve trained hard for it. We’ll wait and see.”

Her coach, Ramon Debuque, was a former national powerlifter himself. After retiring, he began coaching in a gym, and when some lifters with disabilities came to him to train, Debuque decided to coach them for free, eventually switching to coach the Philippine Paralympic powerlifters in 2001.

Coach Ramon is proud of his team’s success.

“The fact they qualified for the Paralympic Games is a feat in and of itself. [They’re among] the best of the best”.

The entire powerlifting event only has 200 slots in total for the men’s and women’s events. Three Filipinos will be representing their country this time around: Achelle Guion will lift in the women’s under 44kgs, Adeline Dumapong will lift in the women’s above 82.5kg, while Agustin Kitan will lift in the men’s under 52kg weight class.

This is also the first time the Philippine delegation will compete in more than two sports, as Josephine Medina qualified for the women’s table tennis while Beariza Roble bookied a slot in swimming. Four athletes represent the Philippines in Athletics: Marites Burce in javelin, one-legged Andy Javellana in the high jump, while Isidro Vildosola and Roger Tapia run in the 1500m and 200m events, respectively. - RAF, GMA News