While all 5 Filipino Paralympians will face huge challenges at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, discus-thrower Jeannette Aceveda perhaps has the hardest test on the team.

Aceveda, who suffers from a degenerative eye disease that has affected both eyes since she was 3 years old, is classified by the International Paralympic Committee as an F11 athlete, meaning she is effectively and technically blind.

Under the same IPC classification and World Para rules, she will perform her event blindfolded with a dark eyepatch to blot out whatever glimmer of light that any of the athletes might still detect, however slight, to level the playing field.

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“Kaparis ko po, may kaunti pa akong naaninag sa kanang mata pero considered na F11 na po ako, or totally blind. Baka maging advantage ’yon sa mga nakaka-aninag pa kaya to make it fair, may eyepatch na kaming lahat. (Like me, I can still see a slight glimmer in my eye but I am considered F11 or totally blind. This might be an advantage for some so to make it fair, all us have to wear an eyepatch),” Aceveda explained.

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This is something easier said than done, acknowledged the athlete, who has been a mainstay of the national para team since making her debut in the inaugural Philippine Sports Association of Differently Abled Athletes National Games in 1997.

The Philspada has been renamed and is now known as the Philippine Paralympic Committee, the national governing body for athletes with disabilities.

A masseuse and reflexologist by trade, Aceveda had her banner year in 2014 when she won a gold medal apiece in the discus throw and shot put events plus a bronze in the javelin throw in the 7th ASEAN Para Games held in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

Extra grueling training grind

Competing blindfolded, keeping the right sense of direction and throwing the discus as far as one can without fouling have truly been an ordeal, Aceveda, 50, who began her career as an athlete during the intramurals of the National Vocational Rehabilitation Center, said.

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“Talagang practice pong mabuti kung saan bibitawan, kung hindi maa-out of sector po. Kapag kulang sa kanan, kapag late o sobra naman mapupunta sa kaliwa. (Constant practice is needed in throwing, or else you will be out of the sector [the prescribed landing area]. If you throw early, the discus will go the right, if late, to the left),” she noted.

“Minsan sa sobrang ingat na tama sa sector, hindi mo maibigay ang full strength mo. (At times if you are too careful to be in the proper sector, you cannot give your full strength)”

With constant repetition and practice, Aceveda said that she could now throw correctly 7 to 8 times out of 10 tries during workouts at the Imus Sports Complex, which was her training bubble together with wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan for a month.

Overseeing Aceveda’s preparations is coach Robert Fresnido, a former decathlete and bronze medalist in the 2001 Malaysia Southeast Asian Games, who has been tweaking the athlete’s throwing technique.

Fresnido went to the extent of blindfolding himself in throwing the discus, sharing his experience with the athlete.

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“Ako mismo nag-testing kung ano ang pakiramdam na naka-eyepatch. ’Yong wala kang nakita. Sinasanay namin siya (Aceveda). Paulit-uilt na nakapiring talaga para masanay siya du’n. At the same time proper execution ng katawan. (I myself tried experiencing what iy' like (to throw) with an eyepatch. Not to see anything. We practice her repeatedly doing it. At the same proper execution of her body),” Fresnido said.

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“May sequence ang pagtapon: ’yong tagal ng paghintay hanggang sa pagtapon niya. Kapag lagi naming ginagawa ’yon, magkakaroon tayo ng muscle memory na kahit na nakapiring. Tiyagaan lang, tiyagaan. (There is a sequence to throwing: from the waiting to the throwing. As we do that consistently, we gain muscle memory even while she is blindfolded. It requires a lot of patience).”

Although exasperated at times by the grueling practice grind, Aceveda has not lost her sense of humor, noting that there are still people who misspell her last name as “Acevedo,” which sounds like a popular local optical and eyewear company.

“Medyo malabo ata ’yon. Visually impaired tapos ’yon ang last name (That is a bit blurry. Visually impaired yet that is my last name,” she quipped.

Drawing support from husband, family

Aceveda said that for a while she was doubtful and anxious when she belatedly learned last June that she would be competing in the World Para Games.

“Parang nag-doubt din ako dahil maikli na lang ang panahon para mag-ensayo noong malaman ka last June na kasama ako sa Paralympics. ’Yong mga swimmers alam na nila since 2020 na pupunta sila sa Tokyo (I was doubtful of myself since the time was too short to practice when I learned that I was going to the Paralympics. The swimmers knew it as early as 2020 that they were going to Tokyo),” she recalled.

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But Aceveda, the country’s first visually impaired campaigner at the Paralympic, is tough, drawing from her own personal experience and family support in deciding to stay in the Games.

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“Minsan po kasi sa buhay natin kapag hindi ka marunong lumaban, nasa ilalim ka lang palagi, (Sometimes in life you have to know how to fight or else you will always stay at the bottom),” said the mother of 3 — aged 15, 19 and 26 — and who is married to blind masseuse Elbert Aceveda.

On top of her parental duties, Aceveda also supervises three massage clinics at separate malls in Marikina.

“Noong nag-doubt ako sa sarili ko, ang sabi ni Elbert, Hhindi, nag-qualify ka. Ibig sabihin magaling ka na. Masaya ako sa iyo (When I doubted myself, Elbert told me, ‘No, you qualified. It means you’re good. So I am happy for you),” Aceveda said, sharing what her husband of 26 years told her.

“Masuwerte ako sa husband ko. Naintindihan niya. Noong sinabi ko sa kanya na magba-bubble training ako para sa World Para Games. Noong sinabi ko itong bubble training, sinabi niya sabay kaming mag-sasakripisyo. (I am fortunate with my husband. He understands. When I told him about our bubble training, he allowed me to go saying that both of us would sacrifice.

Aceveda’s daughter, Jhen Morningstar, added: “Sa dami niya na po na napagdaanan and sacrifices para makaabot sa Tokyo, kaya sobrang happy po kami para sa kanya. (My mom has gone through a lot and sacrifices to reach Tokyo so we are so happy for her.”

Fresnido said he told his ward to also lighten up, not overthink and enjoy her experience in Tokyo when she sets foot in the spotlight for her event at the Japan National Stadium on August 31.

“First time niya (Aceveda) na maglaro sa isang napakalaking competition. Kaya sinabi ko sa kanya na huwag masyadong isipin, pa-kontra sa kaba, at mag-enjoy (This is her first time to be in a truly big competition. So I told her not think about it too much, to fight her nerves, and just enjoy the moment),” Fresnido said.

In the end, Aceveda herself realized that she was perhaps destined to be in the sportsfest, encouraged by the words that Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez gave the Philippines Paralympic contingent during the PSC’s recent virtual send-off.

“Nu’ng sinabi sa amin ni chairman Butch na dahil nag-qualify kami, champion na kaming lahat, du’n nag-simula na tumaas ’yong morale ko,” Aceveda said

“Oo nga naman, sa milyun-milyong Pilipino, anim lang kami na pupunta ng Tokyo. Isa ako dun sa anim, kaya chosen na rin.

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“(When chairman Butch Ramirez told us that because we qualified we were already champions that was when my morale really rose. Come to think of it, out of the millions of Filipinos, only 6 are going to Tokyo. I am one of them, so I am among the chosen ones).”

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