Christmas wishes 2
TWO days ago, we shared Christmas Day wishes for five of our favorite athletes — Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, two-time Olympic gymnastics winner Caloy Yulo, world pole vault champion EJ Obiena, two-time Olympic boxing medalist Nesthy Petecio and chess great Wesley So.
Here are five more wishes:
Golf superstar Rianne Malixi — The year 2024 proved to be a truly memorable year for the 17-year-old campaigner from Quezon City after winning both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S Girls junior titles. She became only the second player in USGA history to win both titles in the same year, matching the feat accomplished by Seong Eun-jeong of South Korea in 2016. Her resume alsi ncludes winning the 2019 Philippine Junior Amateur Open Championship, 2020 Philippine National Stroke Play Championship, 2021 Se Ri Pak Desert Junior, 2022 SEA Games Qualifying and 2024 Australian Master of the Amateurs. Let’s pray Malixi can continue her success in both local and international circuit and bring more honors to the country in the coming new year.
Tennis ace Alex Eala — After winning her first junior singles title at the 2022 US Open and becoming the first Filipino player to win a junior Grand Slam singles title, Eala continues to find ways to make local tennis fans happy. Last July, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 143and became the highest-ranked Filipino female singles player in WTA Tour history, surpassing Maricris Gentz, who peaked at No. 284 back in October 1999. Eala, daughter of 1985 Southeast Asian Games swimming bronze medalist Rosemarie Maniego-Eala and niece of Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Noli Eala, Eala hopes to perform even better under the guidance of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain.
Chess queen Janelle Mae Frayna — As the country’s first and only woman grandmaster since 2017, Frayna remains as the “Poster Girl” of Philippine chess. Despite the rigors of playing chess, Frayna also proved studies should never take a backseat as she graduated with a degree of Psychology with cum laude honors at the Far Eastern University.With no less than NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay and coach Jayson Gonzales providing the much-needed support, the 28-year-old pride of Legazpi, Albay plans to take her acts to Europe, play against the world’s best players and bring home more honors next year. Wish her luck.
Motorsports sensation Bianca Bustamante –A mainstay of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, the 19-year-old Bustamante is also now the country’s brightest new star in motorsports. The San Jose, California resident holds the distinction as the first Filipina to compete in the prestigious W Series in Arizona, Formula 4 Championship in UAE and F1 Academy Series in Italy. Last March, vehicle rental company Avis ranked Bustamante as the third-most influential non-European female racing driver with a combined 2.2 million followers across Instagram and TikTok. There’s no way to go but up for this lovely Filipina motorsports sensation and it is our wish that all her dreams will come true.
Marathon legend Mary Joy Tabal — A veteran of local and international marathons, the 35-year-old Tabal is the first female Filipino marathon runner to qualify for the Olympics, which she has done by running a time of 2:43:29 in the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon in 2016. Tabal also represented the country in the 2016 Boston Marathon in April, where she finished 20th overall in the race. She also bagged one gold and two silver medals in the Southeast Asian Games from 2015 to 2019. Now retired, Tabal now spends her time in her hometown in Cebu where she helps aspiring young marathners train like champions. Long-time friends and supporters now wish her good luck in her newest advocacy.
NNOTES — Congratulations to the ERJHS Alumni Association for being awarded with the prestigious “Gawad Kaagapay” award by the Department of Education (DepEd) at the Great Eastern Hotel in Quezon City last Dec. 20. DepEd Schools Division Superintendent Carleen S. Sedilla presented the award…
Happy birthday to Jess Asistin, President-CEO of Jesse Global Ventures, Inc. (JGVI), who will celebrate on Dec. 25.
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