The MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF) has sweetened the pot for the 19 Filipino athletes who will compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
Besides the financial reward from the Philippine government, medalists from the upcoming Olympic Games will also receive a hefty sum.
“We know that all of our athletes are eager to represent the Philippines, but we wanted to give them the added motivation that would help them and their families as well,” said MVPSF President Al Panlilio after
“The MVPSF will be giving out 10 million pesos for an Olympic gold medal, five million for silver, and two million for bronze.”
The grant of the MVP SF will be on top of what the medalists will receive through Republic Act 10699. That is also 10, five, and two million pesos for Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively.
“This is the tournament of tournaments. We want to showcase what Filipino talent can do. We want to show the world that we can compete,” said MVPSF Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan.
“When MVPSF was formed in 2011, the objective was to win our country’s first Olympic gold and we have a really good chance to win medals in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.”
There are 19 Tokyo-bound athletes so far.
Composing Team Pilipinas are golfers Yuka Saso, Juvic Pagunsan, and Bianca Pagdanganan; skateboarder Margie Didal; half-middleweight judoka Kiyomi Watanabe; weightlifters Hidilyn Diaz (minus-55) and Elreen Ando (minus-64); boxing flyweight Carlo Paalam, middleweight Eumir Marcial, flyweight Irish Magno, featherweight Nesthy Petecio; gymnast Caloy Yulo; pole vaulter EJ Obiena; flyweight jin Kurt Barbosa; rower Cris Nievarez; sprinter Kristina Knott; shooter Jayson Valdez; and swimmers Luke Gebbie and Remedy Rule.
Meanwhile, MVP SF backs fourteen out of those 19 athletes. Still, the foundation has assured that all the members of Team Pilipinas will receive the same rewards.
“The MVPSF appreciates the sacrifices from all our athletes. We know it wasn’t easy to train during the pandemic but they still persevered to give Filipinos something to look forward to and be proud of,” said Panlilio.
“We hope the monetary reward we’ve set aside will give them the extra push to really go all out and win the country’s first-ever gold medal in the Olympics. We’ve been waiting for the Olympic gold medal for so long and we know it will inspire the entire nation.”
Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Irish Magno are currently in Thailand for training, while Eumir Marcial is working with the US Team in Colorado.
Hidilyn Diaz has been training in Malaysia for much of the pandemic, while Caloy Yulo is in Japan.
Pole-vaulter EJ Obiena is training in Italy to prepare himself for the Olympics. On the other hand, golfers Yuka Saso, Bianca Padganganan, and Juvic Pagunsan have seen action in the US and Japan.
“All 14 of the athletes we’ve supported have had some form of foreign training,” said Pangilinan. “It tells you something about the preparation that’s really needed by our athletes as part of their training. You cannot just train locally. You really have to expose yourself to international standards of competition and pick up lessons learned.
“This is certainly a milestone year for us. The delegation we are sending is the best we’ve composed and sent to the Olympics. Of course, we’re hoping that we will continue to have bigger and better contingents to send in the next Olympics. It’s always a journey of improvement and growth,” Pangilinan continued.
“We wish all our athletes godspeed. I hope God blesses their effort for the holy grail of the Olympic gold medal.”
