Somewhere up in heaven, David Nepomuceno must be smiling delightedly not because he is looking down at Metz’s treasured artifacts – from Roman to Renaissance times – on display in various places, including the famed Gothic Metz Cathedral. But it is because majority of the 22 Filipino athletes who qualified for the Paris Olympics are now training earnestly in the city’s modern facility – two weeks before the race for the global athletic supremacy begins. In fact, Tokyo Games silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, along with six other Filipino athletes who all dreamed of fame and richness in this world, arrived in Metz on June 26, exactly a month before what could be the best and enthralling opening rites in decades take place in the heart of the enchanting city.
Nepomuceno’s fervent wish for Filipino athletes is to have long, systematic and smooth preparations for the Big One – the Olympics. Well, his wishes were granted by the Philippine Olympic Committee no less. But who is Nepomuceno? Unknown to many – the young ones especially – the pride of Oas, Albay – was the first Filipino – also reportedly the first from Southeast Asian region – to compete in the quadrennial event.
Coincidentally, it happened 100 years ago when the City of Light hosted the Olympics for the second time – the first one was in 1900. Nepomuceno, who would become a beacon of hope for the next generation with his sprinting prowess, had a vault of harrowing experiences he.
