The last Filipino in the running for a medal in the 2012 London Summer Olympics bowed this week but that doesn’t mean Olympic fever is over.

The 11 Filipino athletes still be in London on Sunday to witness the Olympic’s closing ceremonies, which will feature the reunion of British pop group the Spice Girls.

“A Symphony of British Music,” will feature over 4,000 performers. Musical director David Arnold told the Daily Telegraph that “it’s going to be beautiful, cheeky, cheesy, camp, silly and thrilling.”

The ceremony will end with the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame, and London passing on the Olympic torch to Rio de Janeiro, hosts of the 2016 Olympic Games.

The Philippines first sent athletes to compete at the quadrennial Games in 1924. Since then, the country has amassed nine medals, two silver and seven bronze. However, no Philippine athlete has made the trip to the podium since 1996.

For the 2012 Games in London, the Philippines sent 11 athletes: the country’s smallest delegation yet. The small contingent prompted Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) party-list Rep. Mark Aeron Sambar push for the creation of a new Department of Sports.
 
Sambar added that the country’s fielding less than a dozen athletes to the biggest international sporting event “underlines the lowly stage of our sports development.”
[http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/267960/sports/othersports/to-train-more-pinoys-for-olympics-solon-wants-new-sports-dept]
 
The 11 athletes the Philippines sent to the 2012 Olympic Games were:

Jhessie Khing Lacuna – Swimming
SWIMMING (200 M FREESTYLE)
18 years old
Pulilan Bulacan
6 Gold Medals in the 2nd Philippine National Games
Ranked 5th in Heat 2 of 200-meter freestyle (July 29)

 
Jasmine Alkhaldi – Swimming
SWIMMING (100 M FREESTYLE)
19 years old
Paranaque
3 Gold Medals in the Southeast Asian Age Group Championships
2 Bronze Medals in the 2012 Singapore National Age Group Championships
Ranked 5th in Heat 3 of 100-meter freestyle of 2012 Olympics (August 1)


Marestella Torres – Athletics
ATHLETICS (WOMEN’S LONG JUMP)
32 years old
San Jose, Negros Oriental
4 time Southeast Asian Games Long Jump Defending Champion
2009 Asian Athletics Long Jump Champion
2008 Beijing Olympics Delegate
2005 Asian Athletics Long Jump Silver Medalist
Ranked 22nd in qualifiers of 2012 Olympics (August 7)
 

Rene Herrera – Athletics
ATHLETICS (5,000 METER RUN)
33 years old
Guimaras Island, Iloilo
5 time SOutheast Asian Games Defending Champion
8th in the Asian 5,000 Meter Run and 3,000 Meter Steeplechase
Ranked 42nd in 5000 meter run (August 8)

 
Paul Brian Rosario – Shooting
SHOOTING (SKEET)
29 years old
Manila
Currently Best Filipino Skeet Shooter
Qualifying Olympic Score since 2008 Beijing Olympics
2011 Sydney World Cup series, hitting minimum qualifying score
Italian World Cup of Shotgun Minimum Scorer
2 Golds, 2005 Sutheast Asian Games
Ranked 31st in qualifiers of 2012 Olympics (July 30-31)

 
Tomohiko Hoshina – Judo
JUDO (+100 KGS. SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT)
25 years old
Hails from Bulacan
27 ranking points in 2011 World Judo Champinships
Among 20 Asians to qualify to the London Olympics
2007 Southeast Asian Games Silver Medalist
Eliminated in round of 32 of 100 kgs super heavyweight category of 2012 Olympics (August 3)


Hidilyn Diaz – Weight lifting
WEIGHTLIFTING (58 KGS)
21 years Old
Zamboanga City
Ranked 9th in the World
First Filipino Female to compete in the Olympic Games
2008 Beijing Olympics Wild Card Entry
2007 Southeast Asian Games Bronze Medalist
2 Golds, Asian Youth Championships
1 Silver, Asian Youth Championships
Ranked 17th in weightlifting (58 kgs) category of 2012 Olympics

 
Daniel Caluag – Cycling
CYCLING (BMX)
25 years old
Hails from Bulacan
Among top 60 riders in the world
Participated in the UCI BMX World Championships
Ranked 8th in Heat 3 of BMX cycling category of 2012 Olympics (August 9)
 

Rachel Ann Cabral – Archery
27 years old
Tuguegarao, Cagayan Valley
2012 Olympic Qualifier. World Championships, Utah
Eliminated in Round of 32 of Archery in 2012 Olympics
 

Mark Javier – Archery
30 years old
Dumaguete City
2008 Beijing Olympics Delegate
9th Place, 2006 Asian Games
Eliminated in round of 32 of archery category of 2012 Olympics
 

Mark Anthony Barriga – Boxing
BOXING (49 KGS. LIGHTFLYWEIGHT)
19 years old
Panabo, Davao
First FIlipino Qualifier to the 2012 London Olympics
Gold Medalist, 2012 Sydney Jackson Memorial, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
2011 Olympic Qualifier, World Championships, Azerbaijan
Eliminated in round of 16 of boxing 49 kgs lightflyweight category of 2012 Olympics
- VVP, GMA News