FOR SENATOR Joel Villanueva, the 19 Filipino Olympians have provided the entire nation with a lot of hope and joy at the height of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. 

It's not just all about the medals won, the victory they gave, but their perseverance to inspire fellow Filipinos.    

"It's not just the medals won by our Philippine Olympic team in Tokyo during the 2020 Summer Games, but it also provided us with a lot of joy and hope. They will be forever part of the history as the winningest Olympic Philippine contingent," Villanueva said in a statement addressed to the Olympians.  

"What they did, their collective effort in all competitions will be remembered how good to be a Filipino. Thank you for bringing honors to our country," Villanueva added. 

He also commended the athletes for giving the Filipinos something to cheer for, something to be proud of during these crazy times. 

"Our Fighting 19 gave us joy and hope – at a time when our locked-down nation needed them most. The medal board was a welcome distraction from our COVID-19 tally," the statement said, adding the lessons from their failures would also be the stepping stones to future victories. 
Villanueva encourages government officials to invest in sports to be more successful in future Games, saying the athletes, including the young ones, need their institutional support.  

"If we want to reap more medals in the future, our government must invest in sports. Such cannot be left to individual exceptionalism or private generosity alone," Villanueva also stated. 
Villanueva is hoping the Olympic performance of our athletes headed by first ever gold medalist weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz will lead to the Olympian efforts by the government to defeat COVID-19, or at least keep our people safe from harm.

"Against this backdrop, may their Olympic medals lead to Olympian efforts by the government to defeat COVID-19."

Read full article on BusinessMirror