Olympian Joanie Delgaco and Kristine Paraon soared to an impressive gold in the women’s double sculls on the final day of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Tuesday at The Royal Thai Navy Rowing and Canoeing Training Center in Rayong, Thailand.
Delgaco and Paraon reclaimed the gold in this event for the Philippines, a feat last achieved in the 2019 Games when Delgaco and double-gold medalist Melcah Caballero triumphed on home waters in Subic.
“Iniisip po namin kagabi, nakikita po namin na parang pahirapan pa po ‘yung bronze eh. Pero sabi ko sa sarili ko noong bago ako matulog kagabi, grabe talaga ‘pag si Lord na ‘yung gumalaw talaga. Walang imposible talaga,” said Delgaco.
The Filipino pair charged out of the gates, completing the first quarter of the course in 2:01.70, slightly ahead of Thailand’s Sukkaew Rawiwan and Chaempudsa Parisa.
Delgaco and Paraon steadily pulled away after the 1,500-meter mark of the 2km route, building a comfortable seven-second lead over the hometown bets before finishing strong for the gold with a time of 8:16.976.
(C) POC Media
“Hindi po namin ine-expect ‘tong gold namin po kasi malalakas din po ‘yung mga kalaban namin,” said Paraon. “Pero tiwala po talaga sa isa’t isa at saka alam naman po namin ang mga pinagdaanan po naming training at sobrang salamat ko po kasi si Ate Jo po ‘yung naging lead ko. Isa rin po siya sa inspiration ko na isang rower, naging isang rower din po ako.”
Delgaco, who had been busy outside the boat following her stint at the Paris Olympics last year — including her enlistment with the Philippine Navy — made up for lost time with determination alongside Paraon to secure this gold for the Philippines.
“‘Yung nangyari po ngayong race, hindi ko na po inisip ‘yung pagkukulang ko sa mga training. Dinaan ko na lang po talaga sa tiwala sa sarili, tiwala sa partner, and thankful din po ako dahil ‘yung family ko po nasa finish line. ‘Yun din po ‘yung naging inspirasyon ko sa start pa lang ng race hanggang dulo,” said Delgaco, whose father Bernardo was present to witness her triumph.
Thailand finished second to take silver with a time of 8:21.634, while Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Van Anh and Pham Thi Bich Ngoc earned bronze with 8:26.447.
In the men’s singles sculls, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Cris Nievarez claimed bronze with 8:22.121. Indonesia’s Memo overtook Thailand’s Wattananusith Premanut halfway through the race to capture gold in 8:10.247, ahead of Premanut’s 8:15.827.
