At 45, former eight-division titleholder Manny Pacquiao hoped to emerge at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games ring, only to be denied by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The generational fighting pride of the Philippines previously appealed to “relax” the institution’s 40-year-old limit.
“Too bad our beloved boxing icon is disqualified because of his age and that everyone needs to go through the qualifiers, in all sports, to be able to participate in Paris,” mentioned Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
IOC Director for National Olympic Committee Relations James McLeod tackled Pacquiao’s status through a letter addressed to the local governing body. Regardless of a possible “stretched” age technicality, the IOC emphasizes its previously approved stipulations for eligibility and ruling out the possibility of the former senator being brought on as a universality option. The Philippines previously sent out 17 athletes during the Games’ Tokyo rendition.
“The only valid boxing qualification system for Paris 2024 is the one approved by the IOC Executive Board in September 2022 published and distributed to NOCs (national Olympic committees) and boxing national federations on 6 December 2022,” McLeod wrote.
“The universality places for the Olympic Games will not be allocated to NOCs with an average of more than eight athletes in individual sports/disciplines at the last two editions of the Olympic Games (Rio De Janeiro and Tokyo),” he added.
While a debut at the quadrennial games is out of the question, Pacquiao eyes an exhibition rematch against Floyd Mayweather sometime in 2024.
