MANILA – California-based Filipino cyclist Patrick Coo failed in his bid to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after falling short in the 2021 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Bogota, Colombia.
Coo ranked 45th in the third round on Sunday and occupied the 467th spot in round four on Monday to narrowly miss the pre-qualifying finals of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
On Sunday’s third round, the 19-year old Coo checked in at sixth in Heat 1 and settled for third place in the Last Chance Heat, where the top two riders advanced to the next round.
In his final chance to reach the round-of-16 during Monday’s fourth round, Coo once again ended at sixth place in Heat 1 before landing at third place anew in Last Chance Heat.
Despite falling short of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Coo’s impressive performance in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament was something to build on ahead of the 2024 Paris Games.
“I’m always proud to represent the Philippines in any competitions abroad, I’ll give it another shot,” Coo said on Tuesday. “It’s been my dream, and I hope to win a medal for the Philippines. I am proud to be a Filipino.”
Philcycling head and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino lauded Coo for being the youngest and only Asian rider to compete in the Elite Men category of the qualifier.
“Patrick did his best, and I am proud of him for being so,” Tolentino said in a statement. “He’s still young, and he’s got a lot of BMX racing ahead of him.”
The Ilonggo athlete was a decorated cyclist where he won his first state championship at the age of eight and went on to snatch four national age-group, 12 state, and three western division titles in the United States.
Coo’s failure to obtain a Tokyo Olympics ticket leaves boxer Irish Magno the lone Iloilo-based athlete to compete in the Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan./PN
