Joanie Delgaco saves best for last, nails 20th place in Paris Olympics rowing

MANILA, Philippines – Filipina rower Joanie Delgaco saved the best for last in her final race in the Paris Games.

Delgaco registered her fastest time in the Olympics as she finished 20th overall in the women’s single sculls after placing second in the classification final D at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Friday, August 2.

Crossing the first 1,000 meters at fifth place, the pride of Iriga, Camarines Sur pulled out all the stops in the last 1,000 meters to clock 7 minutes and 43.83 seconds.

The race marked the first time in the Olympics that Delgaco posted a sub-7:50 mark after recording 7:56.26 in the heats, 7:55.00 in the repechage, 7:58.30 in the quarterfinals, and 8:00.18 in the classification semifinal C/D.

It is also faster than her time of 7:49.39, set during the World Rowing Asian and Oceanian Qualification Regatta in April where she became the Philippines’ first female rower to qualify for the Olympics.

Paraguay’s Alejandra Alonso Alderete topped the classification race with 7:42.09 for 19th place, while Iran’s Fatemeh Mojallal (7:46.08) and Turkey’s Elis Ozbay (7:46.95) finished behind Delgaco for 21st and 22nd places, respectively.

Vietnam’s Thi Hue Pham (7:47.84) and Peru’s Adriana Sanguineti (7:49.31) claimed the 23rd and 24th spots out of 32 participating rowers.

Delgaco netted the second-highest ranking by a Filipino rower in the Olympics after the 18th-place finish of Benjamin Tolentino in the men’s single sculls in the 2000 Sydney Games.

Edgardo Maerina, who now coaches Delgaco, placed 22nd in the 1988 Seoul, while Cris Nievarez ranked 23rd in the 2020 Tokyo, also in the men’s single sculls.