Inspired Delgaco prepares for Paris Games

The Manila Times

Inspired Delgaco prepares for Paris Games  Joanie Delgaco, the Philippines' first-ever female rower to have qualified for the Olympics, shares what it means to have made history, her preparations for the Paris Games, and what keeps her going and rowing in this episode of The Manila Times Newsroom.  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews  #JoanieDelgaco #rowing  #Paris2024 #ParisOlympics

Transcript

00:00 Good day to all of you. Welcome to a new episode of Manila Times Newsroom.

00:05 I am Nicole Ann Bugawisan.

00:07 And I am Niel Masoy.

00:09 Today, we will be with the first female rower from the Philippines to enter the Olympics.

00:15 No one else but Giovanni Deligaco.

00:17 Let's go and greet her in this episode.

00:20 [music]

00:32 Giovanni, first of all, congratulations on entering the Paris Olympics as the first female Filipino rower to enter the Olympics.

00:41 We already know a lot about you.

00:45 But for those who don't know, who is Giovanni Deligaco?

00:50 Where did she start? Where was she born? Where did she grow up?

00:53 And how did she go to the sport of rowing?

00:56 I am Giovanni Deligaco. I came from Irga City, Camarines Sur, in the Bicol Region.

01:03 I came from the sport of volleyball before I started rowing.

01:08 I started rowing when I was 17 years old.

01:13 Now, I have been rowing for 8 years.

01:16 You said your first sport was volleyball.

01:18 How did you go to rowing?

01:20 What did you like about rowing and this is the sport you chose until now?

01:25 Actually, one of the assistant coaches here in rowing is from Bicol.

01:31 She was looking for a female rower in Bicol.

01:35 She was looking for me at that time when I was in Bicol.

01:41 She talked to my parents before I went to Manila.

01:48 It was my first time to go to Manila.

01:52 My mom didn't allow me to go to Manila because I was only 17 years old and I was a girl.

02:01 My dad accompanied me here to try rowing.

02:07 What I like about rowing is that it is a challenging sport compared to volleyball.

02:17 Volleyball is a team event and there are many people here.

02:22 I was the only one in the boat so I was a loner.

02:28 Can you give us a picture of how your day goes about?

02:32 For example, what time do you wake up? What are your routines?

02:39 Do you do stretching?

02:41 Actually, we do three training sessions a day.

02:45 We do 5am to 6.30am.

02:48 We do land training, stretching, running, bench pull, weight lifting, and jumping.

02:55 After the first training, we do water training at 8am.

03:04 Sometimes, we do 11am if our training is too long.

03:09 After that, we do lunch at 12pm and we do training at 4pm.

03:20 What I see in the mainstream is how basketball, volleyball, and other mainstream sports are trained.

03:27 How do you train your rowers?

03:30 Give me an example.

03:33 Our foreign coach from Uzbekistan gives us training every day.

03:41 The programs he gives us are different depending on whether there is competition or not.

03:46 Let's go back to South Korea and your qualification in the Olympics.

03:50 You finished fourth in the final.

03:53 You mentioned in an interview that for the first time in a while, you lost to the usual team that usually loses to you.

04:02 What changed in that tournament? What was the reason why you were able to rise to the top?

04:12 I was able to boost my confidence because I lost to Vietnam.

04:18 I trained for 7 years and I never lost.

04:24 I was able to win against three teams, Japan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.

04:31 I was able to beat them before I made it to the finals.

04:35 My second race was really tough because I was able to beat three teams before I made it to the finals.

04:42 We were able to face off against four teams.

04:49 I was really worried at that time.

04:52 I couldn't sleep until the next morning.

04:56 I saw our head coach crying before the competition.

05:06 I told my coach that I was really worried because I never lost against those three teams.

05:13 I was really worried.

05:18 You were the first female rover in the Philippines to make it to the Olympics.

05:23 How much of a responsibility was it for you to be the first female rover in the Philippines?

05:32 When I qualified and I was the first female to make it to the Olympics,

05:39 I was really surprised because there were so many women who tried to qualify for the Olympics.

05:46 I was the one who was really chosen.

05:49 I was really blessed to qualify for the Olympics in Korea.

05:56 What were your first thoughts when you qualified for the Olympics in Korea?

06:03 You were able to beat the tougher opponents.

06:07 What was your initial reaction?

06:10 When I made it to the finish line, I was really crying.

06:14 I was about to ride the speed boat, the orange one.

06:20 It was an emergency boat.

06:25 I couldn't move at that time.

06:28 My teammates and coaches were really happy.

06:32 They were really shouting at the finish line, "Congrats!"

06:36 I was really happy at that time. I can't explain it.

06:39 What does it mean to you to be able to make it to the Olympics?

06:44 For example, some people might think that you are just lucky to be able to make it to the Olympics.

06:50 But for you, how do you take the fact that you are already an Olympian?

06:56 For me, it's a big thing to be able to make it to the Olympics

07:00 because it's rare for an athlete to be able to enter such a high competition.

07:07 All athletes are really hoping to make it to the Olympics.

07:14 You mentioned about your past experiences and at the same time, you clinched the Olympic spot.

07:21 Since you've been a pro wrestler for 8 years,

07:24 what do you think is the advantage or mentality you have for the upcoming Olympics

07:32 that you know you have the advantage compared to them?

07:35 For me, the experience of how long you've been in the pro wrestling world is the advantage.

07:44 You can use that experience in the Olympics because for me, that's the most important thing.

07:54 The experience will help you.

07:56 For the upcoming Olympics, is your goal to finish in the podium, or to win the championship?

08:05 For all athletes, they are really hoping to win the medal in the Olympics.

08:11 For now, I really want to finish in the podium.

08:18 But for the ranking, I think I can do it.

08:20 Joanne, as an athlete, you have a lot of challenges, physical and even mental.

08:26 My question is, what keeps you going?

08:29 You know, you wake up in the morning and your body is aching.

08:32 What is it that motivates you to overcome those physical or mental pains?

08:41 What is it that motivates you or inspires you?

08:45 For me, what motivates me is not to work hard, but for myself and my family.

08:56 Maybe waking up early. It's really hard to wake up early.

09:02 But discipline is what you need to be an athlete.

09:09 That's the hardest thing, discipline.

09:12 What is your message to the young athletes?

09:19 Especially, you went through a phase where you're finding yourself.

09:23 You played volleyball first, and now you're flourishing in the sport of rowing.

09:28 What is your journey to find yourself?

09:32 Is it going to be easy or it takes time?

09:39 I can say to the young athletes,

09:44 when you're young, your mentality is not yet tough.

09:54 So, what I can say is, whatever sport they really want,

10:02 they should continue to train hard.

10:09 Always, discipline and hard work is what you need.

10:14 What is your message to the young athletes?

10:16 I am Joanna Delgaco, the first Filipino rower to enter the Olympics.

10:21 Please continue to support me in my fight in the Paris Olympics.

10:25 [Music]

10:40 [Music]

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