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POC chief formalizes Olympic training venue in Metz

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="POC President Rep. Abraham " Tolentino.="" Handout="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/tvpatrol/02/01/poc-president-rep-abraham-_bambol_-tolentino.jpg"/><figcaption>POC President Rep. Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino. <em>Handout photo.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Rep. Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino was in France earlier this week to iron out the preparations for the country&#x27;s campaign in next year&#x27;s Olympic Games.</p><p>The 2024 Summer Games in Paris marks the Philippines&#x27; 100th year of participation in the Olympics.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a century of Filipino athletes&#x27; campaign in the Olympics,&quot; said Tolentino, who formally sealed arrangements for a pre-Olympic training venue at the Academos Sports Center in Moselle in the city of Metz.</p><p>&quot;Hidilyn Diaz [Naranjo] won for the country its first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, and that was historic,&quot; he added. &quot;But how about a more historic centennial Olympic campaign?&quot;</p><p>The Philippines debuted in the 1924 Olympics -- also held in Paris -- with David Nepomuceno as its sole representative in the 100- and 200-meters of athletics. </p><p>Since then, the Philippines has competed in 21 more editions of the Summer Games. Their most successful stint came in Tokyo in 2021, where Diaz delivered the country&#x27;s first-ever gold medal while boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam won silver, and Eumir Marcial won bronze.</p><p>In total, the Philippines has 14 Olympic medals -- one gold, five silvers, and eight bronzes.</p><p>Tolentino signed last Thursday with officials of the City of Metz led by La Moselle president Patrick Weiten the memorandum of understanding in a ceremony covered by the French media.</p><p>France3, one of France Television Group&#x27;s regional channels, RL or the Le Républicain Lorrain, and Letz Go Metz were among the French media who diligently covered the ceremony.</p><p>A video clip of Diaz-Naranjo&#x27;s gold medal campaign in Tokyo as well as those of boxing silver medalists Petecio and Paalam and bronze medalist Marcial were featured on French television.</p><p>The Philippines was the first to sign a training agreement with Moselle, one of the hundreds of pre-Games training centers for Paris 2024 that are certified by both the French organizers and the International Olympic Committee.</p><p>The pre-Olympic training program, which covers two months before the July 26 to August 11, is also the first in POC history.</p><p>&quot;We have the capacity to welcome, support and offer sports equipment commensurate with the Olympic challenges,&quot; Weiten told the same media interview. &quot;Every time a Filipino athlete performs on an Olympic Games site [as long as he is not in competition with a Frenchman], he will have the support of Moselle.&quot;</p><div><strong>Related video:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2344708" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

POC president Bambol Tolentino was in France earlier this week to iron out the preparations for the country's campaign in next year's Olympic Games.