Fil-Am BMX rider Caluag earns London Olympic berth

Filipino-American BMX rider Daniel Caluag became the eighth member of Team Philippines that will compete in the 2012 Olympic Games in July. The 30th Summer Olympiad will be held in London from July 27 to August 12. The 25-year-old Caluag, son of Bulacan-born Filipino migrant workers, earned enough ranking points in three tough qualifying tournaments—the last, the UCI BMX World Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom—to become the only Asian to clinch an Olympic berth in the BMX event. "I knew from the start that Caluag would get it. He really trained and worked hard to earn the slot," said PhilCycling president and Tagaytay City mayor Abaham "Bambol" Tolentino. "Hopefully we can finally get the attention we deserve to boost the morale of our riders," he added. Tolentino said he will request the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to proved a P25,000 a month retro-active allowance to Caluag, a four-time top BMX rider in the US. Alexis Vergara, another Filipino campaigner, failed to qualify after missing the cut. A field of 175 riders from all over the word competed in the World Championships where the top 60 finishers earned slots to the London Games. BMX made its debut in the 2008 Beijing Games. Philippine team Chief of Mission Manny Lopez received an email from the London Organizing Committee for Olympic Games (LOCOG) confirming Caluag's Olympic spot. "We are proud to have Mr. Caluag in our team. We know he'll be a big asset to our small group. And becoming the only Asian to qualify is indeed gratifying," said Lopez. Swimmers Jessie Khing Lacuna and Jasmine Alkhaldi, boxer Mark Anthony Barriga, Filipino-Japanese judoka Tomohiko Hoshina, skeet shooter Brian Rosario, long jumper Marestella Torrres and steeplechaser Rene Herrera are the other Filipino athletes that qualified in London.   Lopez is hoping one or two more athletes from archery and weightlifting will qualify to make his target of 10 Filipino Olympians. — JVP, GMA News