Metro Manila, Philippines – Filipino athletes who represented the country in the Paris Olympics expressed gratitude to their supporters on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
The Filipino Olympians – including two-time Olympic gold medalist for gymnastics Carlos Yulo and bronze medalists for boxing Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas – had a homecoming parade around the cities of Pasay and Manila.
Around 4 p.m., the parade kicked off at Vicente Sotto Street in Pasay City. It passed along Roxas Boulevard, P. Burgos Avenue, Finance Road, Taft Avenue, Quirino Avenue, and Adriatico Street before ending at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
The Olympians were welcomed with loud cheers of thousands of supporters at the stadium.
Yulo, who brought pride to the country after his back-to-back gold win, told their supporters that they will aim for more medals.
“Mas gagalingan pa po namin sa mga susunod na competition. Asahan n’yo po na mas makakakuha po tayo ng mas maraming medal po. Nagpapasalamat po ako sa lahat ng mga taong sumusuporta sa’min,” the gymnast said.
[Translation: We will do better in the next competition. Expect that we will get more medals. We thank everyone who supported us.]
Villegas, meanwhile, was overwhelmed with the support they received.
“Sa lahat po ng kababayan ko sa buong mundo, taos-puso po kaming nagpapasalamat sa suporta n’yo at sa prayers n’yo, lalo na po sa mga nanood po sa’min na madaling araw po dito sa Pilipinas,” she said.
[Translation: To our fellow Filipinos around the world, we deeply thank you for your support and prayers, especially to those who watched our games in the wee hours in Philippine time.]
Petecio, on the other hand, gave advice to young, aspiring athletes.
“Sa mga kabataan po na nag-a-aim na sundan ‘yung yapak po naming lahat na nandito po sa harapan ninyo, ‘wag n’yo pong pigilan ‘yung sarili ninyo. ‘Wag n’yong pigilan na abutin ang pangarap ninyo. Lagi n’yo pong taandaan, sa bawat pag-hindi ni Lord, sa bawat ayaw ni Lord ibigay ‘yung gusto natin, mas better ang plano ng Panginoon lagi kaysa sa atin,” she said.
[Translation: To the youth who aim to follow in our footsteps, persevere. Don’t stop reaching for your dreams. Always remember, the Lord’s “no” leads to a better plan for us.]
The 7.7-kilometer homecoming parade route was filled with thousands of supporters, some even coming from outside the metro.
Long queues of supporters dotted the streets under the sweltering heat just to meet the athletes.
“Actually, I’m from Davao City po. Lumuwas po ako to Maynila para makita ko lang po si Carlos Yulo. Kahapon lang po ako bumiyahe po,” Dan Sanchez said.
[Translation: Actually, I’m from Davao City. I went here in Manila just to see Carlos Yulo. I traveled yesterday.]
“Walang pagod basta kay Yulo,” said supporter Grace Amadeo, who came from Cavite.
[Translation: There is no exhaustion, for Yulo.]
“Proud po ako sa kanila kasi du’n po sa performance nila sa Olympics po,” another supporter, Kevin Espiritu said.
[Translation: I am proud of their performance in the Olympics.]
The parade and program at the Rizal Sports Complex finished after two hours.
Based on police data, about 25,000 individuals participated in the event.
