MANILA – Crossfit coach Chino Roque is excited to be the first Filipino to fly into space.
The De La Salle University Manila graduate said he has been preparing for his one-hour space flight, even if it is still months away.
“I believe in preparations, so right before I go to Florida again for some training, I’m going to continue my crossfit training. I guess that’s going to prepare my body for most of the exercises,” he said in an interview on “Mornings@ANC” on Wednesday.
“Space camp was the best for me, really. And after that will be the actual space tour, so I’m really psyched for that,” he added.
Thankful for being given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Roque said he plans to focus on “giving back” after his journey to space.
Specifically, he wants to utilize his skills by training more kids in sports, and older people in crossfit.
“What I have now in store for me would be just trying to find ways to give back. Again, I couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who supported me along the way,” he said.
“Right now, I’m just focusing on finding little ways to give back, maybe coaching small children again in football, giving time to teach crossfit,” he added.
Asked what he plans to do during his brief stay in outer space, Roque said: “Embracing the moment is what matters to me the most, since I guess if I take too much selfies, I won’t have much time to just enjoy it.”
No giving up
Recalling the recently held space camp in Florida where he and two other Filipinos competed for a slot for a trip to space, Roque said they had to go through a series of tasks that challenged both their minds and bodies.
“It always starts out early in the morning, so most of us would be awake from 4 a.m. just trying to get ready for the exercises for that given day,” he said. “There was a military assault course where we had to go through a series of challenging obstacles… there are hurdles, jump ropes, pushups and situps, wall climbs and ziplines. It was fun.”
“They (judges) wanted to know if you’re in condition to perform tasks under pressure,” he added. “So there was one task, after you do a set of burpees, you have to shoot three targets out of nine.”
When asked why he thinks he was chosen over his older competitors, Roque said: “I don’t think there would be an advantage or disadvantage since everyone has his own strengths and weaknesses. But I think for me what separated me from most of the candidates was that I never gave up.”
“Like in most exercises, I just tried to find the fun in it. For example, I was put in a centrifuge where we were spun… I still tried to find fun in it, doing poses inside the chamber. I guess the judges saw that, they saw I was just chilling out, just having fun and helping other people out.”
Roque replaced Lt. Mario Mendoza in the Axe Apollo National Challenge after the Air Force pilot dropped out due to conflicts in schedule.
The two others include original space race winner Evan Rey Datuin, and Ramil Santos, who was the winner of Axe’s electronic raffle.
Roque said he plans to contact Mendoza soon.
“I’m still finding that time to call Lt. Mario Mendoza [to thank him],” he said. “I’m very thankful to God, this is a wonderful experience.”
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
