Best Posts in Thread: Philippines first ever Olympic gold medal

I thought she previously served in the Air Force and quit to pursue her chance to compete in the Olympics. Maybe this is just them saying she is welcome to serve again?

Sports generally don't take priority when a large portion of your population are struggling just to feed themselves. The pool of population that has the ability to eat a diet and has the free time that would allow them to compete internationally is quite low. They have recently (in the past few decades) created legislation to reward athletes that compete internationally. It takes time and a lot of money to build athletic programs.

 

Well, a diet of red horse, rice, fried chicken and dried fish and then spending your free time feeding chickens ain't getting you to the Olympics. But let's not act like they are well off and don't struggle to eat a balanced diet required to become a top world class athlete. They make poor nutritional and life decisions because of a lack of education and opportunity, another issue that holds them back from meeting their potential.

You also have to look to the monetary incentives. A nobody can get lucky and win some money at a cockpit, buy some more chickens and then increase his chances of winning more money. Cockpits are everywhere and the cost of entering and the time needed to train a cock is very attainable to poor Filipinos. Cockfighting is a money sport here and there is plenty of money to be made. What incentives are there locally for weightlifting, track and field, swimming, basketball, soccer, hockey, football, modern pentathlon...basically any sport other than boxing? (The Philippines has won medals, 11 of them, in the Olympics. Mostly with boxing.) The cost of entry and the time required to master them, is also out of reach for most Filipinos.

You act like winning a gold in the Olympics is no big deal and any country should be able to do it. There is a very good reason why wealthy countries dominate sport. It is not a coincidence and you are delusional if you think Filipinos are just as well off as people from the countries below.