The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has named pole vaulter EJ Obiena and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe as the flagbearers of the country for the opening parade of the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
POC president Abraham Tolentino said on Thursday, July 8, that they considered the flights, and the schedule of the 19 Filipino athletes who qualified for the Tokyo Games in choosing the flag-bearers.
"All our 19 athletes are qualified to serve as flagbearers," Tolentino said during a virtual press briefing.
Tolentino said that the Philippine contingent for the opening parade will only include the two flagbearers, and six team officials due to the health and safety protocols put in place due to the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The six officials include Philippines' Tokyo Olympics chef de mission Nonong Araneta, Philippine Swimming Inc. president Lani Velasco, Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion - Norton, boxing coach Nonito Velasco, and skateboarding coach Daniel Bautista.
Carrion earlier revealed that the POC offered to designate 2019 World Gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo, another Filipino athlete who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, as one of the two flag-bearers of the country.
However, GAP declined the offer in order to give time for Yulo to rest since the opening ceremonies will happen on July 23, and the competition for artistic gymnastics will begin on July 24.
