Despite an impressive showing in the Rowing Men’s Single Sculls qualifiers for the 2020 Olympics, Cris Nievarez was knocked out of medal contention in the quarterfinals held on July 25 at the Seaforest Waterway in Tokyo, Japan.
Nievarez initially qualified to compete in the quarterfinals after he finished third in his heat on July 23. He garnered a time of seven minutes and 22.97 seconds, just behind Croatia’s Damir Martin and Russia’s Alexander Vyazovkin, who finished with times of 7:09.17 and 7:14.95 respectively.
Racing against even stronger opponents in the quarterfinals, Nievarez struggled to keep up the pace. He docked in at fifth place for the heat, failing to bridge the gap between himself and the likes of Oliver Zeidler of Germany, Luca Verthein Ferreira of Brazil, and Mindaugas Griskonis of Lithuania. Zeidler led the way with a time of 7:12:75, followed by Ferreira and Griskonis at 7:14.26 and 7:16.71. Nievarez himself finished with a time of seven minutes and 50.74 seconds.
The loss puts Nievarez’s bid to bring home the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal to a screeching halt. One of 19 Filipino athletes sent to represent the country in Tokyo, he joins Taekwondo’s Kurt Barbosa and Shooting’s Jayson Valdez from Shooting on the sidelines as of July 25.
Despite falling short in the quarterfinals, many of Nievarez’s local supporters believe that the 21 year old Quezon native overachieved in his first ever Olympics. Patrick Gregorio, Philippine Rowing Association president, was quoted in an interview saying, “His performance is beyond expectations. Commendable. With focused training here and abroad, Cris will really improve.”
Nievarez has one last performance set for Tuesday, July 27 as he looks to bounce back from his quarterfinals performance in the Semifinals C/D. His showing in the heat will determine his official placement in the standings of the tournament.
Heat 5 Results:
Damir Martin (Croatia) -7:09.17
Alexander Vyazovkin (Russia) – 7:14.95
Cris Nievarez (Philippines) – 7:22.97
Felix Potoy (Nicaragua) – 7:32.54
Privel Hinkati (Benin) – 7:40.87
Quarterfinal 4 Results:
Oliver Zeidler (Germany) – 7:12.75
Luca Verthein Ferreira (Brazil) – 7:14.26
Mindaugas Griskonis (Lithuania) – 7:16.71
Jordan Parry (New Zealand) – 7:18.48
Cris Nievarez (Philippines) – 7:50.74
Mohammed Al-Khafaji (Iraq) – 8:03.55
