PHILIPPINES: OLYMPICS - Filipino diver Sheila Mae Perez is country's chance for first Olympic gold

Record ID: 329495

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: OLYMPICS - Filipino diver Sheila Mae Perez is country's chance for first Olympic gold
  • Date: 25th May 2008
  • Summary: JUNIOR DIVERS WATCHING
  • Embargoed: 9th June 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAEZH797OV2CMZVFGMD8QBZKOUQ
  • Story Text: Philippine hopes for an Olympic gold lie in diver Sheila Mae Perez, whose road to Beijing began in a port city where she sold fish and dove for scrap iron from cargo ships.
    The Philippines has never won an Olympic gold medal, and one of its few chances in the Beijing games lies in 22-year-old diver Sheila Mae Perez.
    Perez began diving at age nine, recruited from the port city of Davao in the southern Philippines.
    Born into poverty, she helped her parents makemeet by selling fish and recycled bottles.
    They lived near the pier, where she would dive from huge cargo ships to collect scrap iron underwater.
    Diving is not a popular sport in the Philippines, and Perez is the only female diver in the team.
    She has won four gold medals from the Southeast Asian Games in 2005 and 2007, and is one of only two Filipino divers to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
    Though gold may be a long stretch, Perez says, luck could be on her side.
    "If you ask others, it seems impossible to win gold. But my spirit of winning is there. I always say, 'it's everybody's game.' What if they all make a mistake, and I'm the only one who doesn't?" Perez said.
    Perez, along with fellow diver Ryan Fabriga, faces a gruelling training regime in preparation for Beijing, under Chinese coach Zhang Deihu.
    Despite a language barrier and complaints by athletes of his strict methods, Zhang has upped the game for Filipino divers. From a near-bottom ranking, the Philippine team has climbed to between 22nd to 25th in the world, he says.
    "A Filipino coach would understand the needs of Filipino divers, unlike with a Chinese coach. If we say we must attend to a family problem, that's not an excuse. He says 'No, you have to train,'" Perez said.
    Deihu, a former diving champion himself, is not optimistic about an Olympic medal for Perez or Fabriga, and says the sport has a long way to go in the Philippines.
    "My plan is for our athletes to enter the finals during the Olympic games, the top 12 in the finals, that is my hope. It is a very daring plan as Philippines is a small country, and it was not long ago that they started the diving sports. So to make it into the finals will be world class standards," Zhang said.
    Olympic medal or not, Perez is making waves in the Philippines. Not only has her story been turned into a television drama, she also recently signed a contract to endorse a sports brand.
    More importantly, her success helped uplift her family's condition. She has bought two houses and supports her siblings' schooling.
    "Athletes who come from poverty are used to grinding work, to physical sacrifice. We're determined, because this is our means to move up. If we succeed, this is how we can help our parents," she said.
    She is also a role model for young athletes who share her Olympic dreams.
    "I want to be a good diver like Sheila," said nine-year-old D'xismea'n Dumaguit.
    "I hope she wins a medal in the Olympics," said 13-year-old Christine Garay.
    The Philippines may send 14 athletes to the Beijing Olympics. It has won two silver and seven bronze medals in previous Olympic games.
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