Gold Standard: What does it take to win an Olympic gold medal?

What does it take to win an Olympic gold medal?

Since the Philippines joined the modern Games of the Olympiad in 1924, the country had won a total of 10 Olympic medals, seven of which are bronze and three are silver.

Sans the technicalities of which medals count or whatnot, the Philippines actually had two gold medals from the Games. Arianne Cerdeña won the first one in the 1988 Seoul Olympics for bowling, although it was considered a demonstration sport. The same situation happened to Willy Wang who also bagged a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for wushu.

Despite this, the quest for that elusive gold medal is still on.

Prior to them leaving for Japan, GMA News Online asked some athletes heading to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics the question: What does it take for an athlete to win an Olympic gold medal?

Rower Cris Nievarez, who kicked off the country’s campaign in Japan, said it would really take a lot of sacrifice for an athlete to get a gold medal.

“You should be really motivated everyday and that is your only goal,” the 21-year old rower said. “You should be really focused. That’s what an athlete needs to get the gold medal.”

Meanwhile, Jayson Valdez of the shooting team said hard work is key to success.

“All athletes dream of being in the Olympics, that’s one. But when one makes it to the Olympics, the only dream that the athlete would really want to become is to be a gold medalist,” he said.

“I think you will not get it unless you work for it. You really need to work hard and persevere to get that elusive gold.”

Boxers Irish Magno and Nesthy Petecio believe that discipline and patience are needed to win the gold.

“The first one we really need is patience and trust. If you have no discipline, then what will happen? If you do not trust yourself and your coaches, then the two of you will not be coordinated, it won’t be successful,” said Magno, the first Filipina boxer to qualify for the Olympics.

“My coaches always tell me to take it step by step. If you want to reach the top when you’re just starting, you will forget the people who helped you and saw what you have gone through,” Petecio shared.

EJ Obiena, one of the athletes expected to have a good chance of competing for a gold medal after defeating 2016 gold medalist Thiago Braz in several tournaments, said two major factors should be considered to get the Olympic gold.

“First, you need to believe that you can,” said Obiena.

The 25-year old pole vaulter himself admitted that it was not until last year that he realized his chances of winning a medal in the Tokyo Games.

“I never really kind of embraced that I actually had a shot. That's something that up to now, talking about it, I’m having goosebumps because I truly believe that I have a shot,” Obiena shared. “That makes me even want to train as hard as I can and push myself.”

For EJ, the second factor to claim the top spot is something beyond his control: luck.

“I’m saying I’m very lucky that I’m given a shot and I’m able to recover from the injury that I had,” shared Obiena, referring to an injury that almost made him quit years ago.

“So, these are circumstances that are really out of my hands. I have some kind of control but not really fully under my control, and these are -- you just need to kind of embrace that. Embrace the uncertainties, embrace change, and be able to adapt to it,” he added.

Best chance for a gold medal

From world champions to record breakers, the 19 athletes who are playing for this year’s Summer Games are considered to be the best batch the Philippines have formed in the recent editions of the Olympics.

And the delegates themselves believe that this batch has the potential to deliver that elusive gold.

“This team is really strong. If one wins a medal, then the whole team will be more boosted,” Valdez said. “Just one. For sure, this might be a historic time and what we are waiting for will come.”

Obiena even said he had chills while talking about his batchmates in the Summer Games.

“These people are probably the best chance that we have. I might be biased because I’m part of the group but I never talked to someone and have this conversation and have chills,” he said.

For Obiena, this group trained hard to get the job done.

“These are athletes that just want to go out there and do the job that they need to do. It doesn’t matter what happens after.”

For the rest, being with the likes of medalists and champions also give them the confidence to prove themselves on the global stage.

“It feels good and at the same time, it is an honor to be with those famous in sports like Hidilyn [Diaz], [Eumir] Marcial. Those two are really tipped to get the gold. I’m happy to be representing the country and be in the campaign with them,” Nievarez said.

Kurt Barbosa, taekwondo’s bet in the Olympics, echoed Nievarez. “I told myself that one day I will be with them. I’m happy that I’m with them now and we will do our best to get that gold,” he said.

“It’s super dope that I get to be around them. I’m just gonna soak it all up,” Kristina Knott, the Philippines contender for track and field shared. “[I’ll] ask questions, talk [to them] because they’ve been to places where I haven’t been yet. So I’m definitely going to be learning from them.”

Remember these names: EJ Obiena, Carlos Yulo, Eumir Marcial, Irish Magno, Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio, Hidilyn Diaz, Cris Nievarez, Kurt Barbosa, Margielyn Didal, Elreen Ando, Jayson Valdez, Juvic Pagunsan, Kiyomi Watanabe, Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan, Kristina Knott, Luke Gebbie, and Remedy Rule.

More than the target for the Philippines’ first Olympic gold, this batch of athletes, achievers even prior to their Japan stint, already proved that the Filipino is a world-class athlete. That in itself is a golden standard that future athletes should look up to.

—JMB, GMA News