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Diver Perez feels like a winner
Written by Staff   
Saturday, 16 August 2008 13:16

BEIJING — Sheila Mae Perez walked out of the Water Cube, site of the diving competition, looking like she was floating on air.

She actually was, five times, during the 3m springboard preliminaries Friday. But she was on her way to the athletes’ service bus, her feet on the ground not above the springboard, and joy was written on her face.

If you didn’t know the result beforehand, you’d think she was a winner. Far from it, though, but she has fully embraced the spirit of this Olympic Games and despite losing, she will be going home happy and fulfilled.

"Hindi ako nagsisisi sa pagpunta ko dito," she said and added, "walang panghihinayang."

Perez finished 23rd, beating just seven others in the 30-woman field that included two of China’s sporting icons, one of whom, Guo Jingjing, topped the preliminaries, while the other, Wu Minxia, was right there in the mix in fourth spot after five dives.

Perez’s slot as No. 6 diver was just before Wu, but despite having the Chinese star practically breathing behind her back, the pint-sized 22-year-old Filipina from Zamboanga City, said she never got nervous.

"Hindi ako kinabahan," she said.

She may not have buckled, but it was obvious her skills were far lesser than the other competitors.

She never got below 22nd in the rankings from the first dive onwards.

After five dives and a total score of 251.15, she languished at 23rd spot, 122.75 points behind Guo Jingjing, the defending champion whose image is enshrined in Madame Tossauds New York wax museum.

After five dives, the top 18 advance to the semifinals and after that, the top 12 in the finals. Perez never got to smell No. 18. After the preliminaries, she was more or less 25 points behind from the last semifinal slot.

But it was not because of not trying. She said she tried her best to perfect her dives, the way she did in practice the day before.

"Maganda siya kahapon sa practice," said fellow diver Ryan Fabriga. "Hindi ko alam kung ano nangyari."

Perhaps one reason was the tendinitis she suffered days before the dive. She was carrying a pack of ice on the way to the bus, pressing it against her left knee.

But like a good sportswoman, she said this was not an excuse.

She, however, lamented that the seven judges were stingy on her.

"Maliit magbigay," she said, not once getting more than 7 on the various scales of difficulty.

"Siguro kasi maliit din ako at maliit ang bansa natin."

She wondered particularly why her score in the first and fifth dives were given low scores.

"Favorite jumps ko yun at ginalingan ko talaga," said the three-time SEA Games gold medalist..

But she also admitted she erred during the second dive when she failed to reach the apex.

Despite the finish, she said she felt like a champion because that was what President Arroyo said when she gave them a pep talk last week.

"Enjoy ako," she said, "parang champion din ang pakiramdam."

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