Jayson Valdez
Personal information
NationalityFilipino
Born (1995-09-15) September 15, 1995
Home townPasay[1]
Years active2009–
Sport
Country Philippines
SportShooting
Event(s)10m air rifle, 50m rifle three positions, 50m rifle prone[1]
Medal record
Southeast Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Singapore 10 m air rifle

Jayson Valdez (born September 15, 1995[1]) is a Filipino sports shooter who has competed in the 2010 Asian Games and the 2018 Asian Games. He also competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Education

Valdez was a student of Malate Catholic School.[2] He also attended Adamson University where he graduated with a degree in customs administration.[3]

Career

Early career

Valdez started his sports shooting career in 2009 and represented the Philippines in international competitions.[1] He was part of the National Youth Development Program of the Philippine National Shooting Association.[2] His father Julius Valdez, was a sports shooter like himself and a three-time gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games.[4] The younger Valdez was also coached by his father, who is also the national shooting coach.[1] Initially Jayson took up taekwondo at age 13 and only played sports shooting with his father for leisure purposes only. He was encouraged to pursue a competitive career in shooting by his father, as well as his eventual teammate Tac Padilla, who also ran a shooting clinic.[5][6]

2010 to 2019

Jayson Valdez competed in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China but was not able to clinch a medal.[7] At the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore, Valdez clinched a bronze medal.[8]

In 2018, Valdez reportedly received an offer to compete for Singapore; a proposition he rejected.[9] He competed in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia where he took part in the men's 10m air rifle and men's 50m rifle 3 position events; failing to progress to the finals of both events. He however, broke his own Philippine national record for the first event.[6]

He competed in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games which was hosted by the Philippines but failed to make a podium finish.[8]

2020 Summer Olympics

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Valdez decided to loss weight as part of his bid to get enlisted in the Philippine Army believing that the 2020 Summer Olympics scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan would be cancelled. According to him, his consistency in shooting has improve since his lifestyle change.[10]

Valdez qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in June 2021, which has been postponed for a year due to the pandemic.[11] He qualified through accumulating enough minimum qualifying scores in Olympic qualifying tournaments, including the 2018 Asian Championship in Kuwait and the 2019 ISSF World Cup series.[8] Competing in the men's 10 m air rifle, Valdez failed to progress to the event final after scoring 612.6 in the qualification round. The score meant that he finished the 44th best shooter among 47 competitors.[12]

Personal life

Valdez got offered to get enlisted in the Philippine Army in 2015 but he only made the final decision to join in January 2021. He postponed his enlistment bid upon qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics which was postponed for a year.[10] His father, Julius also served in the Philippine Marines with the rank of second lieutenant while his mother is a school teacher at Sun Valley Elementary School in Parañaque.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Athlete: Jayson VALDEZ". International Shooting Sport Federation. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Tupas, Cedelf (March 25, 2010). "Teen marksman stuns SEA Games champion". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Ramos, Josef (June 20, 2021). "Valdez's great call for flag and country". BusinessMirror. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Filipino shooter Jayson Valdez qualifies for Tokyo Olympics". GMA News. June 19, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  5. ↑ Iñigo, Manolo (October 21, 2012). "Tac Padilla: The son also rises". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Sarmenta, Yoyo (August 22, 2018). "Shooter Jayson Valdez hopes to surpass father's legacy". ESPN. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Tac, PH marksmen way off Asiad target". Philippine Daily Inquirer. November 16, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Pedralvez, Manolo (June 19, 2021). "Dad of Tokyo-bound Pinoy air-rifle shooter lives Olympic dream through son". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Acuña, Valdez Inayawan sa Alok ng US, Singapore" [Acuña, Valdez rejects offers of US, Singapore] (in Tagalog). Philippine Olympic Committee. August 14, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Lifestyle change leads Jayson Valdez to unexpected Tokyo Olympics stint". CNN Philippines. June 20, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  11. ↑ "PH shooter Jayson Valdez clinches Tokyo Olympics berth". CNN Philippines. June 19, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  12. ↑ Lojo, Michelle (July 25, 2021). "Jayson Valdez misses target in Olympic shooting". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
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