SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2012
PLANET
20
PHILIPPINES
Vancouver Edition
OUR OLYMPIC MEDAL HAUL SINCE 1924:
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Roel Velasco, elder brother of Onyok and bronze medalist in Barcelona, was coach of Mark Barriga in the recent London Olympiad. By john rogelio e. austria
HE country’s fruitless campaign in the recent London Olympics has been extended to 16 years, spanning four Olympiads. The last time the Philippines landed a medal was in the 1996 Atlanta Games when light flyweight boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco placed second. Eleven Filipino athletes competed in London: boxer Mark Anthony Barriga, swimmers Jessie Khing Lacuna and Jasmine Alkhaldi, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, skeet shooter Brian Rosario, archers Rachelle Ann Cabral and Mark Javier, judoka Tomohiko Hoshina, tracksters Marestella Torres and Rene Herrera, and bicycle motocross (BMX) rider Daniel Caluag. If it’s any consolation, 118 other nations also failed to land a medal in London.
To date, the Philippines has produced nine medals in the Summer Olympics -- two silvers and seven bronzes -- since the country first joined in the 1924 Games. Five of the medals came from boxing, two from swimming and two from track and field. The national pride, no doubt, has taken another beating. But instead of focusing on our debacle, over which we ordinary mortals have no control, let us lift our flagging spirits by reliving our few glorious Olympiad moments. These heroic efforts prove that Filipinos are capable of pitting skills and talent against the world’s best.
9 Olympic medals To date, the Philippines has pro-
duced nine medals in the Summer Olympics -- two silvers and seven bronzes -- since the country first joined in the 1924 Games. Swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso holds the distinction of being the first ever Filipino Olympian to make it to the podium, taking the 200-meter breaststroke bronze in the 1928 Amsterdam Games. He also gave the Philippines the honor of being the first ever Southeast Asian country to bag an Olympic medal. Yldefonso duplicated his feat
in the same event four years later in Los Angeles, where the Philippines recorded its best Olympic showing with three medals -- all bronze. The other two medalists were Simeon Toribio in high jump and Jose Villanueva in boxing. Yldefonso died four months before his 42nd birthday at the Capas concentration camp after surviving the Bataan Death March. He is the great great grandfather of swimmer Daniel Coakley, who placed 40th in +22