Palaro to Paris: Joanie Delgaco aces volleyball to rowing jump

For almost the entirety of her teenage years, Joanie Delgaco was hungry for a volleyball break.

Standing at 5-foot-5 when she was 17 years old, Delgaco was not exactly tall enough for the sport. But she stood out as a setter for Camarines Sur in the Palarong Pambansa, attracting volleyball scouts, including one, she said, from NCAA’s University of Perpetual Help. 

Despite receiving interest, Delgaco, who eventually became the first Filipina rower to qualify in the country’s 100-year history in the Olympics, felt her chance to shine in volleyball was slim.

“In volleyball back then, I couldn’t see myself excelling [long-term],” Delgaco said in Filipino.

From age 11 to 17, Delgaco had a volleyball career in sight, even idolizing former UAAP star Alyssa Valdez. But eventually, the Iriga native gave herself a reality check.

She felt the need to try something new, so when an opportunity to try out and train for a different sport in Manila came, a teenaged Delgaco took a leap of faith. 

Convinced by a rowing coach, Delgaco jumped into her new sport, betting on her physical tools and innate strength, which her mentors believed to be her biggest asset. 

“He really talked to me and my parents. I said alright, if I could do well in rowing, maybe this is really for me,” she said.  

Starting without any knowledge of the sport, Delgaco traveled to Manila for the first time in her life. She did not even bring a travel bag with her, using instead a cardboard box to pack her clothes and relocate to the city. 

Slowly, she grasped the fundamentals of rowing, building herself up to go for an Olympic standard 2,000-meter race. 

Rowing techniques included sculling backward, requiring leg and arm strength in pulling back the paddle – a stark contrast to  dragon boat, which propels the boat forward. 

From orchestrating plays for her volleyball team, Delgaco aced captaining her racing shell, the term used for competitive rowing boats.

“When I started rowing, in under one year, I already won a medal,” shared Delgaco. “That’s when I felt like this is where I am going to excel. And then, every year after that, the blessings did not stop.”

By 2024, her biggest blessing came. Delgaco booked a ticket to the Paris Olympics after placing fourth in the women’s single sculls in the World Rowing Asian and Oceanian Qualification Regatta in Chungju, South Korea, last April 21.

The feat made her only the fourth rower – and just the first female – in Philippine history to advance to the Olympic games after Edgardo Maerina (1988 Seoul Games), Benjamin Tolentino Jr. (2000 Sydney Games), and Cris Nievarez (2022 Tokyo Games). 

“Isang malaking karangalan na makapasok sa Olympics lalo na sa sport namin na hindi talaga masyado alam (It is a big honor to advance to the Olympics, especially in a sport that many may not be familiar with),” Delgaco said. 

It took the 26-year-old three tries, though, noting she tasted defeat in her two previous Olympic attempts. 

In 2016, when she was only 18 years old, Delgaco lost her bid for an Olympic ticket, then fell short again in 2021 where she finished just a second shy of qualifying. 

Part of her up-and-down journey in the sport also saw her snagging the 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold in Manila, and then bowing out in last year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. 

But whichever way her campaigns end up, Delgaco always makes sure to represent the country well. More so now that she’s in the sport’s biggest stage.

“Bihira lang mga atletang nakakapasok dito sa Olympic competition (It’s rare to be a part of this),” said Delgaco. – Rappler.com