TOKYO — Cris Nievarez was back in the Sea Forest Waterway on Saturday morning, warming up for a tougher test on Sunday in men’s single sculls quarterfinals in the Tokyo Olympics.
In his way for a place in the A-B semifinals are rowers from Germany, Lithuania, Brazil, New Zealand, and Iraq.
“Like in the heats, Cris is targeting a Top Three finish to progress to the next round. He’s calm and focused on his target,” rowing association treasurer Magnum Membrere said.
On Friday, the Philippine Olympic rowing debutant stuck to his game plan. He stayed on the coattails of the top two, safely placing third in Heat 5 to advance to the quarterfinals.
The 21-year-old Atimonan, Quezon, pride targets the same in his second race, where the top favorites are German Oliver Zeidler and Lithuanian Mindaugas Griskonis.
Zeidler is a 6-foot-8 rower who has a European Championship gold and a World Championship title under his credit. On the other hand, the 6-foot-2 Griskonis is a three-time European champ with two bronzes won in the world joust.
Zeidler topped his heat, while Griskonis was second in his own heat Saturday.
The realistic goal for Nievarez is to beat Brazilian Luca Verthein, Kiwi Jordan Perry, and Iraqi Mohammad Al Khafaji to make the A-B semifinals.
Among all these rowers, only the Iraqi progressed to the quarters from the Repechage.
