What’s the most fasyon way to showcase to the whole world that you're a proud Filipino athlete participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics? By wearing our national costume, the barong, of course!
But making things even more fun are table tennis player Ian Lariba and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, two of the 12 Filipinos participating in this year’s Olympics at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who went on to share these wacky photos of themselves sporting the barong shirt at the Olympic village, right after the flag raising:
Other Filipino athletes competing for the Olympics include marathoner Mary Joy Tabal, golfer Miguel Tabuena, boxers Rogen Ladon and Charly Suarez, swimmers Jessie Lacuna and Jasmine Alkhadi, weightlifter Nestor Colonia, taekwondo jin Kirstie Alora, track and field athlete Eric Cray, and long jumper Marestella Torres-Sunang.
The choice of wearing a barong, worn over a thermal undershirt, is the Philippine Olympic Committee's (POC) version of being unique amidst the suit-and-tie outfits other countries will be wearing during the ceremonial parade of athletes at the Maracaña Stadium. Let's all hope for the best for our national team as the most prestigious global sporting event commences on August 6 (Manila Time).
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Banner photograph from sports.abs-cbn.com