By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Butch Ramirez and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Bambol Tolentino cited the importance of investing on cutting-edge sports science to sustain the country’s successful stint in the Tokyo Olympics.
Ramirez said having a solid sports science program and technology is beneficial not only for elite athletes but also for the association’s talent-identification and grassroots programs.
“Pag makita mo yung mga atleta sa US, China, Europe… makita mo talaga na dumaan sila sa katakot-takot na sports sciences,” Ramirez said in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Online Forum.
As an educator, Ramirez said he had personally witnessed how sports science worked wonders for mighty nations like having performance science, physiological performance testing and others to help athletes improve to their highest level of performance.
“Although we started tailoring health and wellness sa atleta natin and sports education… yung mga atleta natin malayo pa rin sa ibang bansa na kumpleto sa sports science,” said Ramirez.
Olympic gold medal winner Diaz and Co., did some of them prior to the Tokyo Games, but Ramirez said they’re not enough.
“Sa akin hindi lang pera ang kailangan. The government, lessening from the success of the Tokyo Games, must put up this cutting edge sports science or putting science in our own training, kasi kung wala yan, mahirap i-achieve yung goal sa Paris, sa LA (1928), sa Brisbane (1932),” said the PSC chief.
Tolentino echoed the same sentiment, adding that he was able to visit a university in Tokyo with complete sports medicine facilities.
But to achieve this, he said it needs a collective effort from the government and private sectors.
Tolentino said he is also working on partnering with other nations to address these things.
“Meron kaming pending na memorandum of agreement with Qatar na dun ipapadala yung athletes for training sa mga facilities nila doon na kumpleto ang sports medicine na high tech. Actually marami nang nag-o-offer sa ating exchange program on this and we’re looking into it,” Tolentino said.
Aside from sports science, Ramirez also noted investing in young athletes aged 10 to 15 years to be exposed to elite level tournaments such as the Olympics.
“Kasi kung wala itong mga ganitong plano, mahirap i-achieve yung goal natin in future Olympics like Paris (2024), LA (2028) and Brisbane (2032),” said Ramirez.