Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 13) – The Philippine bodybuilding team’s return in the Southeast Asian Games is in jeopardy after it allegedly failed to meet requirements for the competition.
In a statement released on Friday, the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Philippines said the 31st SEA Games Bodybuilding Technical Committee did not give clearance to the nine Filipino bodybuilders in the biennial sports event.
The IFBB Philippines said it was unaware of the rules.
“These two requirements were not advised to the team beforehand hence we are trying now to rectify or are the very least, comply,” the group said in its statement.
The first requirement, according to the national federation, is for the bodybuilders to submit a doping test result.
The organization said the bodybuilders underwent doping test on Thursday and are still waiting for the results.
The second requirement, which the IFBB Philippines said they were not made aware of, is the bodybuilders should be accredited with the Asian Bodybuilding Federation.
IFBB Philippines president Rowena Walters told CNN Philippines that three Filipino bodybuilders failed to compete on Friday.
Edward Alido was scheduled to compete at the light flyweight division, while Leidon Cruz is listed in the flyweight category. Alexis Abule is the other Filipino bodybuilder vying for medal on Friday at the bantamweight division.
IFBB Philippines said other countries like Laos are facing the same situation and only four nations are currently competing in the bodybuilding competition.
“We are still hopeful that our bodybuilders will still be able to compete in the next couple of days and take a shot at winning gold medals for the country,” IFBB Philippines said.
The national bodybuilding association said the Philippine Olympic Committee is helping address the issue.
Other members of the Philippine bodybuilding team are Lorie Deloria, Ming Jereza, Roderick Ternida, Homer Valmonte, Jesse Virata, and Renz Alimorong.
