If there’s one thing that celebrity parents, Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez and Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres avoid, it’s watching their only daughter Juliana’s fencing matches.
This was revealed in an interview by Gretchen Ho on the father-daughter duo, which she posted on her Instagram account recently, in which a video of them sparring against one another were also shown.
“If there’s one advantage that newly crowned UAAP Fencing champion Juliana Gomez has been using, it’s the opportunity to spar and learn from her father, SEA Games gold medalist Richard Gomez. Check out this video of them going at it in a fencing gym in Ormoc,” Ho said in her caption.
Juliana, a student of BS Public Administration at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, recently delivered her school’s lone gold for individual epee during the UAAP.
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Ho said that Gomez revealed that he “can be a little bit tough on Juliana especially when watching her matches,” which was the main reason why “he doesn’t come to see them live anymore.”
On the other hand, Torres also could not take watching Juliana’s matches because she gets too nervous.
“But both of them have provided a wealth of wisdom and support to their daughter, including keeping themselves from displaying their trophies & awards around the house to avoid pressuring their only child,” she said.
In a separate interview, Ho said she was amazed by Juliana’s “noticeable mental and emotional fortitude” in dealing with the pressures of her chosen sports.
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“Apart from taking the transition from UP Volleyball’s Team B to the UP Fencing Team, did you know she already built a team around her composed of a fencing coach, a strength and conditioning coach, and a sports psychologist? Does this ring some bells for you? Yes, it’s the Olympic winning formula of Hidilyn Diaz. Juliana says she’s serious about her dream to make it to the Olympics,” said Ho.
“And why not? If Juliana can be a UAAP champion in her rookie year after just two years of serious fencing training, then for sure, the best is yet to come,” she added. EDV
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