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By Krista Angela M. Montealegre, Reporter
ARCHER Mark Javier will make history when he
competes in the coming Beijing Olympics. That is if he wins the gold
medal.
The Dumaguete City native earned a slot in the
Olympic Games after topping the 2007 Asian Archery Championship in
Xian, China.
“Every athlete dreams of playing in the
Olympics,” said Javier, who looks up to Robin Hood and Park Sung
Hyun.
Javier is also the eighth Filipino archer to
qualify in the quadrennial meet. Past campaigners were Francisco
Naranilla (1972), Carlos Santos Jr. (1972), Ramon Aldea (1972), Roel
Merto (1988), Basilisa Ynalaga (1988), Jennifer Chan (2000) and
Jasmin Figueroa (2004).
Javier began his career in archery in 1998. He
won the National Indoor tournament in 2004 and 2006 and was a member
of the team gold winner in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG)
held in Manila. He placed sixth in the World Cup in Shanghai.
He competed in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha,
Qatar but was defeated by the Korean Im Dong Hyun 113-104 in the
1/16 Elimination Round. He finished ninth in the individual
category.
An alumnus from Silliman University with a
degree in information science, Javier is training under SEAG gold
medalist and fellow Silliman University alumnus Jennifer Chan. He is
also a member of the Silliman University Dumaguete Archery Club. He
jogs thrice a week, spends six hours of shooting daily and also
trains himself in bowing.
The 26-year-old Javier started as an air gunner,
inspired by his father who was a champion air gunner. He won third
place in his first air gun tournament at the age of 15. When he
started college in Silliman, he fell in love with archery and at the
age of 17, he started competing.
Javier, the world’s No. 82, will see action in
the fourth and final leg of the World Cup in Boe, France on June 23
to 29 in preparation for the Beijing Games in August.
National Archery Association of the Philippines
Secretary-General Ligaya Manalang said Javier’s participation in
the World Cup would allow him to experience the Olympic atmosphere
since almost all the Beijing-bound archers were expected to show up
in the tournament.
“Mark knows he will be up against world-class
athletes in the World Cup, that’s why he’s been training so
hard,” said Manalang.
Javier will join other Filipinos who had
already earned a ticket to the Beijing Olympics— swimmers Miguel
Molina, Ryan Arabejo, JB Walsh, Daniel Coakley and Cristel Simms;
divers Shiela Mae Perez and Rexel Ryan Fabriga; taekwondo jins
Tshomlee Go and Marie Antoinette Rivero; boxer Harry Tañamor; and
shooter Eric Ang.
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