Cris Nievarez (File photo)
MANILA – Cris Nievarez made the quarterfinal cut in the Tokyo Olympics men's rowing single sculls event after finishing third in his heat on Friday at the Sea Forest Waterway in the Japanese capital.
Nievarez clocked in at seven minutes and 22.97 seconds, making the quarterfinal cut as the top three rowers per heat will qualify to the next round.
He will join Croatian Damir Martin, who topped Heat 5 at 7:09.17, and Russian Alexander Vyazovkin, who came in second at 7.14.95, in the quarterfinals on Monday.
Nievarez was way ahead of fourth placer Felix Potoy of Nicaragua, who finished at 7:32.54.
Potoy and Benin's Privel Hinkati will be playing in the repechage race.
"Masarap sa pakiramdam, unang race, unang sabak, masaya, para ito sa Pilipinas (Good feeling, first race, first competition, I’m happy, this is for the Philippines),” Nievarez said.
The top three in all of the six heats in the men’s singles scull advanced to the quarterfinals.
“Magandang simula ito sa Tokyo Olympics para sa Team Philippines(This is a good start here in Tokyo Olympics for Team Philippines). Nievarez qualifying in the quarterfinals on the first day is a good testament that our athletes have prepared well, despite the pandemic. It definitely boosts the morale of all our competing athletes in the next competition days!,” Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said.
Tolentino urged the Filipinos to keep on praying “our athletes and coaches.”
Those who missed the top three will battle it out in Saturday’s repechage where the top two performers move on to the quarterfinals.
“Mamaya, pag-aaralan namin ang oras ng lahat ng pumasok, kung sino ‘yung makakaharap ko sa quarterfinals at kung anong oras ang kailangan habulin (Later, we’ll study the time everyone enters, who I’ll face in the quarterfinals and what time needs to be pursued,” Nievarez said.
A native of Sariaya in Quezon, Nievarez is the only Southeast Asian qualifier in men’s singles sculls and one of only two Asians left after the preliminaries—the other one being Ryuta Arakawa, who placed second in the final heat.
“One race at a time, on to Sunday,” rowing association treasurer Magnum Membrere said. (PNA)
