The Bronze Chapter: The Philippines’ Final Achievements in 2024 Olympics (Part II)

Following Carlos Yulo’s double gold victory, Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio both racked up bronze medals in their respective divisions, raising the Philippines’ total medal count to four at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics held from July 26 to August 11, 2024.

BOXING

In the women’s 50kg semi-finals at the Roland Garros Stadium last August 7, Aira Villegas suffered a tough loss to Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey in a unanimous 0-5 decision. Cakiroglu dominated in the first round, gaining a huge lead early on. Despite Villegas’ strong effort, including an unexpected knockdown of Cakiroglu in the second round, Cakiroglu held her ground and secured the win.

The following day, in the women’s 57kg division, Petecio narrowly lost to Poland’s Julia Szeremeta in a split decision, with scores of 29-28 across four judges and one judge scoring 28-29 in Petecio’s favor. Petecio started strong, dominating the first round with her aggressive approach. However, Szeremeta was quick to shift her tactics in the following rounds, effectively countering Petecio’s attacks and clinching the victory.

GOLF

Bianca Pagdanganan had a marvelous final round at the women's individual stroke play, firing a 4-under 68 to finish at joint 4th with a 6-under total. Despite bogeys on the 10th and 13th holes setting her back, Pagdanganan rallied with clutch birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, briefly holding 3rd place before China’s Xiyu Lin reclaimed the spot, leaving Pagdanganan just one shot short of the podium.

Dottie Ardina capped her Olympic debut with a strong final round, scoring a 4-under 68 to finish joint 13th with a 3-under 285 total. After starting with one birdie and eight pars on the front nine, Ardina soared on the back nine, sinking four birdies with consecutive ones on the 17th and 18th holes. Her impressive performance allowed her to climb ten spots from 23rd place, jumping from her initial position of 40th after the first round.

WEIGHTLIFTING

Elreen Ando delivered an outstanding performance in the women’s 59kg event, totaling 230kg with lifts of 100kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk, which earned her a 6th-place finish. Ando matched her personal record with a successful 100kg snatch, but failed to lift 102kg on her third attempt. In the clean and jerk, Ando achieved her new personal best of 130kg. Nonetheless, her overall total fell 6kg short of placing 3rd and winning a medal.

Meanwhile, John Ceniza and Vanessa Sarno unfortunately ended their Olympic campaigns early with a “Did Not Finish” (DNF) result. Ceniza, competing in the men’s 61kg category, battled through a shoulder injury but was unable to successfully lift the 125kg bar in any of his three attempts. Similarly, in the women’s 71kg division, Sarno failed to lift 100kg in the snatch across all three attempts. 

As the Philippines looks ahead, this year’s accomplishments highlight the country’s growing prowess in international sports, inspiring the next generation of athletes to strive for excellence and push the boundaries of what is possible.