THE PARIS Olympics formally begins on Friday (Saturday morning, Manila time) with a unique opening ceremony by the banks of the river Seine to set in motiom the Philippines' centennial participation at the Games.
For the first time in history, the opening rites will be staged outside the main stadium as the 206 participating nations will be paraded in boats with the Eiffel Tower serving as a magnificent backdrop.
Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam will carry the flag in the opening ceremony which will start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Paris time, (Saturday 1:30 a.m., Manila time).
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At the conclusion of the four-hour opening ceremony, the Philippines will start its Olympic campaign with rower Joanie Delgaco as the first in the 22-man delegation to compete in the women’s single sculls on Saturday.
All eyes will also be on Carlos Yulo as he competes in the men’s qualification where the finalists in the all-around and each of the apparatuses will be determined. The 95 gymnasts were divided into three subdivisions with Yulo scheduled in Subdivision 2 at 3:30 p.m. Paris time (9:30 p.m. Manila time).
Yulo will look to finish in the Top 24 in the all-around, and in the Top 8 in each of the six apparatuses, including the floor and vault where he once reigned as world champion, among 95 gymnasts at the end of the three subdivisions for a chance at a medal.
The men’s all-around final will be on Wednesday, while the apparatus finals will run from August 3 to 5.
Yulo is seen as one of the favorites to win not just one but multiple medals in the Paris Olympics as he looks to atone for his disappointing performance in Tokyo where he only finished 47th in the all-around and failed to advance to the floor exercise finals.
The 24-year-old Yulo made it to the finals of the vault, despite missing the floor final, and finished out of the medal in fourth.
Delgaco, the first Filipina rower to qualify in the Olympics, is entered in Heat Two to be flagged off at 10:24 a.m. (4:24 p.m. Philippine time) where she will be racing against entries from Slovenia, Algeria, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Morocco.
The Top Three finishers in each of the six heats will move to the quarterfinals, while the others will race in the repechage to determine the final rankings.
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