Filipino rower Cris Nievarez. | File
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cris Nievarez completed his Olympic debut by finishing at 23rd place in men’s single sculls of rowing on Friday, July 30 at the Sea Forest Waterway in the Bay of Tokyo, Japan.
The 21-year old finished 23rd among 32 rowers. Despite losing his bid for a podium finish, his future is bright according to Philippines Rowing Association president Patrick “Pato” Gregorio.
“Cris’s journey as a world-class rower just started in Tokyo,” said Gregorio who watched the competition on Friday morning from Manila. “He has a long way to go—still young at 21.”
Nievarez submitted a time of seven minutes and 21.28 seconds to land fifth in the event’s Final D of the classification round which eliminated him from the medal contention.
The time was faster than the 7:22.97 he logged in the preliminary round that qualified him for the quarterfinals last July 23.
Greece’s Stefanos Nyouskos clocked an Olympic record 6:40.45, to win the gold medal.
Norway’s Kjetil Borch (6:41.66) clinched silver and Croatia’s Damir Martin (6:42.58) bagged bronze in the event where Nievarez was the lone Southeast Asian rower.
“It took Hidilyn [Diaz] four Olympic cycles to win the gold medal, she never gave up,” Gregorio added. “So Cris, don’t give up. He is top 23 in the Olympics. It’s a great way to start.”
Nievarez, a native of Atimonan, Quezon is a Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in 2019. /rcg