Olympic-bound Nievarez vows to make the most of two-month leadup to Tokyo

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino rower Cris Nievarez is confident that two months will be sufficient for him to prepare for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Nievarez, 21, qualified for the Summer Games after the World Rowing Asia & Oceania Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta held last week in Tokyo, Japan.

A gold medalist in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Nievarez finished ninth overall in the men's single sculls event, but grabbed one of the five berths at stake as the rowers who finished ahead of him had qualified for the Olympics already.

"Sobrang saya po ng team, lalong-lalo na po ako, family ko," said Nievarez of his feat during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.

• READ: Pinoy rower Nievarez recalls upstream battle before achieving Olympic dream
• READ: Pinoy rower Cris Nievarez qualifies for Olympics

The next couple of months will be a grind, however, as Nievarez gears up for his maiden stint in the Olympics. A native of Atimonan, Quezon, Nievarez is the first Filipino rower to qualify for the Games since Benjie Tolentino competed in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

According to Nievarez, he has been continuously training since January to prepare for the qualifiers, but he expects his practices to intensify upon the arrival of their Uzbek coach, Shukhrat Ganiev, in the coming weeks.

"Pagdating po ni Coach Shukhrat, ayan po, mas madadagdagan 'yung ensayo," said the rower.

Having already gotten a glimpse of his competition -- as well as the venue for his event -- Nievarez knows what he needs to work on in order to perform at a high level in the Olympics.

Nievarez had crossed the finish line with a time of 7:37.55 in the qualifiers to finish ninth. The winner of the men's single sculls, Ryuta Arakawa of Japan, notched a time of 7:01.59.

"Para sa akin talaga, ang kailangang dagdagan talaga, endurance. Tapos, muscle strength po talaga," said Nievarez. "Kasi 'yun pong sasalihan ko po sa Olympics, hindi po siya lightweight. 'Yung lightweight po kasi, 'yung event ko nung SEA Games na nag-gold ako."

"Ngayon ano po siya M1x, open weight po siya, so parang palakihan siya ng katawan, patangkaran, parang ganoon," he explained. "Ang dadagdagan ko po talaga is endurance, kasi 'yung tangkad, andoon na po ako, 5'11. Tapos 'yung mga nakakalaban ko rin po, mga 6'3, ganoon."

"Ang dadagdagan ko po siguro sa akin, 'yung technique saka muscle strength, tapos endurance po."

He is confident that in the two months leading up to the Tokyo Games, he will improve enough to achieve his goal.

"Susubukan ko po talaga na maibigay ang best ko, dito pa lang sa Pilipinas. Sa bawat training, ma-improve nang ma-improve 'yung time, hanggang sa makadikit doon sa malalakas na countries, sa mga European, New Zealand," said Nievarez.

"May two months pa naman pong preparation, so kaya pa."

In the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, New Zealand's Mahé Drysdale won the gold medal with a time of 6:41.34.

FROM THE ARCHIVES:

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv