Celebrating the 26 Greatest Filipino Olympians

MANILA, Philippines - On the occasion of The Philippine Star’s 26th anniversary, we are paying tribute to the 26 greatest Filipino Olympians – men and women who proudly represented the country with distinction in the world’s most prestigious sporting extravaganza.

Anthony Villanueva

1.  At the 1964 Tokyo Games, Villanueva became the first Filipino to bag an Olympic silver medal, losing a 3-2 split decision to Russia’s Stanislav Stepashkin in the featherweight boxing finals. Villanueva, then only 19, raced to the finals after beating Italy’s Giovanni Gigrenti, Tunisia’s Tahar Ben Hassen, Poland’s Piotr Gutman and the US’ Charlie Brown. Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer, Jesse Abramson of the New York Herald Tribune, Peter Wilson of the London Daily Mirror and renowned columnist Red Smith went on record as saying Villanueva deserved the gold.

Mansueto (Onyok) Velasco

2. The diminutive lightflyweight battled Bulgaria’s Daniel Petrov Bojilov for the boxing gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Despite a fiery showing, the 22-year-old Velasco lost a 19-6 verdict at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Bojilov fought defensively as if he knew the gold was in the bag. Velasco had to win by stoppage to claim the crown and all Bojilov had to do was to survive three rounds to bankroll the reported $25,000 prize that was promised by Bulgarian authorities for the victory. The five judges from the US, Algeria, Syria, New Zealand and Greece gave Velasco no chance to earn for the Philippines the elusive Olympic gold medal. On the way to the finals, Velasco ousted Chinese-Taipei’s Tsai Chih-hsui, Cuba’s Yosvanni Aguilera, Morocco’s Hamid Berhili and Spain’s Rafael Lozano.

Teofilo Yldefonso

3. The Piddig, Ilocos Norte, native is in the record books as the first Filipino to gain an Olympic medal and the only back-to-back medalist. Yldefonso was 27 when he won his first Olympic medal, a bronze, in clocking 2:56.4 to finish behind gold medalist Yoshiyuki Tsuruta of Japan and silver medalist Erich Rademacher of Germany in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. Four years later, in Los Angeles, he lowered his time to 2:47.1 in the finals of the same event but couldn’t outrace Tsuruta and another Japanese Reizo Koike, settling for another bronze. Yldefonso tried his luck at the 1936 Berlin Olympics but could only finish seventh in his favorite event. In 1942, Yldefonso died defending his country as a soldier with the 57th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Scouts in Bataan.

Simeon Toribio

4. The 5-11 Boholano narrowly missed bringing back a medal at the 1928 Olympics in high jump. He finished in a tie for second with three others, each clearing 6-3 1/4. After a jumpoff, he wound up fourth. But Toribio bounced back at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. He used the standing scissors kick style of jumping to clear 6-5 5/8 and beat the US’ Cornelius Johnson for the bronze. Toribio could’ve captured the gold but he struggled in four hours of competition, ignoring the call of nature as nobody could leave the field with the contestants lined up one by one to assault the bar. Toribio was the undisputed Asian champion in high jump from 1927 to 1934. He competed in the 1936 Olympics but didn’t place. Toribio served as a Bohol congressman in 1941-53 and died in 1969 at the age of 63.

Miguel White

5. He was the only Filipino to emerge with a medal out of 29 athletes, including 16 basketball players, at the 1936 Berlin Games. He took the bronze in the 400-meter low hurdles on a 52.8-second clocking. White also competed in the 110-meter high hurdles but bowed out in the trials despite leading up to the seventh hurdle when cramps set in. White tripped across a hurdle and fell. He was escorted to the bench by a member of Hitler’s Youth Organization. The day before the 400-meter low hurdles finals, White created a stir by registering the best qualifying time. The Legazpi, Albay, student from Mapua missed bagging a silver by a fraction of a second in the finals. He led in the first few minutes then the US’ Glen Hardin burst ahead to claim the gold. Canada’s John Loaring grabbed the silver at 52.7. When World War II broke out, White fought the Japanese as a Philippine Army officer and was killed in action.

Jose Villanueva

6. The bantamweight boxer got off to a rousing start at the 1932 Olympics, outpointing Akira Nakao of Japan. Then, Mang Cely, as he was fondly called, lost to eventual gold medalist Horace (Lefty) Gwynne of Canada. Villanueva went on to claim the bronze on a decision over American Joseph Lang. Unlike in modern Olympic boxing competitions where a loss means outright elimination, the 1932 format allowed Villanueva to remain in contention for the bronze despite an earlier loss. After retiring from boxing, Villanueva became a pro trainer and worked with the legendary world junior lightweight champion Flash Elorde. In 1983, Villanueva died of a heart attack while watching the Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran bout on TV. His son Anthony fought as a featherweight and snared a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The Villanuevas are the only Filipino father-and-son tandem to claim Olympic medals and they did it 32 years apart.

Leopoldo Serrantes

7. Ripe for the pros at 26, the two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist from Negros Occidental beat Pete Cuizon in a box-off for the Philippine team’s lightflyweight slot three weeks before the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Serrantes, an Army sergeant, bowled over fighters from Egypt, Liberia and Morocco before facing Bulgarian seaman Ivalio Hristov in the semifinals. Hristov carved out a 5-0 decision to end Serrantes’ drive for gold. The effort was good for a bronze medal as he basked in the glory of becoming the first Filipino Olympic medalist in 24 years.

Roel Velasco

8. The Bago City, Negros Occidental, fighter was 20 when he took the bronze medal in the lightflyweight division at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He crushed Kenya’s James Wanene, 16-1, in his opening bout then battered India’s Rajendra Prasad, 15-6, and edged Great Britain’s Rowan Williams, 7-6, before settling for the bronze in losing to Cuba’s Rogelio Marcelo via a first round stoppage in the semifinals. Velasco’s younger brother Mansueto or Onyok surpassed his feat by snatching the silver at the 1996 Olympics. Velasco is in London as lone Filipino boxing entry Mark Anthony Barriga’s coach.

Martin Gison

9. The five-time Olympian was the closest Filipino shooter to win a medal. He placed fourth in the small-bore .22 rimfire rifle prone event at the 1936 Olympics. Gison was tied with five others for second and eventually slid to fourth. He also shot in the target pistol and revolver events but wasn’t a top finisher. When Gison competed, the 10-ring bull’s eye was .89 of an inch in diameter at a 50-meter distance. It was scaled down in 1958 to .487 of an inch. During World War II, Gison was captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March. In 1948, he returned to the Olympics in the 50-meter pistol, 50-meter small-bore rifle and 25-meter rapid fire pistol events but his best ranking was 22nd of 71 in the rifle. Gison also participated at the 1952, 1956 and 1964 Games, making him the only Filipino to perform in five Olympics.

Ramoncito Campos

10. The UST and De La Salle cager was a mainstay of the Philippine basketball teams that played at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics. The country’s second best finish was seventh in Melbourne in 1956. A win over Uruguay in overtime would’ve assured the Philippines of fourth place but the national team coached by Leo Prieto lost by nine. The Filipinos beat Thailand, Japan, France and Chile in their campaign. A sour note was the Philippines’ 121-53 loss to gold medalist US, which swept its eight outings by an average winning margin of 53.4 points. Future Boston Celtic stars Bill Russell and K.C. Jones led the charge for the Stars and Stripes.

Edgardo Ocampo

11. Only two Filipino basketball players competed in three Olympics – Campos and Ocampo. The Ateneo guard would’ve been a four-time Olympian if the Philippines qualified for the 1964 joust in Tokyo. The national squad played in the 10-team pre-Olympic qualifiers in Yokohama two weeks before the Olympics started and failed to make the cut. The Philippines finished sixth in the qualifying tournament that sent the top four placers – Mexico, Australia, Canada and South Korea – to the Olympics. Cuba, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines failed to advance. What killed the Philippines’ chances were upset losses to Indonesia, 98-86, and South Korea, 90-58. Ocampo suited up at the 1960, 1968 and 1972 Olympics. Ocampo later became a coach in the PBA where he won four titles, three with Toyota and one with Royal Tru-Orange. He passed away in 1992 at the age of 54.

Cesar Jayme

12. The shooter participated in four Olympics in 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960. Jayme competed in his favorite event, the 50-meter small-bore rifle. Despite his multiple appearances, he could only finish as high as 15th of 58 shooters with 397 points in 1952. Jayme was 17th of 71 in 1948, 23rd of 44 in 1956 and 44th of 54 in 1960.

Rodrigo Del Rosario

13. The featherweight lifter took fifth at the 1948 London Olympics with a press, snatch and jerk total of 307.5 kilograms. Egyptian Mahmoud Fayad grabbed the gold with a world record lift of 332.5 kilograms. Del Rosario improved to fourth at the 1952 Helsinki Games, carrying 317.5 kilograms, five short of duplicating Trinidad bronze medalist Rodney Wilkes’ feat. In 1956, Del Rosario was back for another try but failed in the clean and jerk to bow out in 20th spot of 21.

Josephine De La Vina

14. She never raised eyebrows as a discus thrower in three Olympics but her claim to fame was earning the gold medal at the 1966 Asian Games. De la Vina made her Olympic debut in 1964 and failed to qualify with a throw of 42.27 meters. In 1968, she was back to improve her distance to 46.93 meters but still, it wasn’t enough to advance beyond the eliminations. In 1972, De la Vina hurled the discus to a distance of 53.92 meters, good only for 13th place in the qualifying heats. Aside from Toribio, De la Vina is the only Philippine track and field athlete to compete in three Olympics.

David Nepomuceno

15. He was the sole Filipino representative when the country’s Olympic odyssey began at the 8th Summer Games in Paris in 1924. Nepomuceno and National Physical director Dr. Regino Ylanan took a 33-day boat ride from Manila to Marseilles then went to Paris in a train, arriving a week before the Olympics. A Philippine Scout, he competed in the 100-meter and 200-meter heats in Paris. He never made it beyond the trials. In the 100-meter heat, Nepomuceno finished fourth, outsprinting a Swede and a Czech. He was dead last in the 200-meter dash. Nepomuceno blamed the grueling ocean trip for failing to survive the heats. Although he was bust in his only Olympic appearance, Nepomuceno is in the record books as the pioneer Filipino to compete in the quadrennial spectacle.

Akiko Thomson

16.The Philippine Sports Commission official was a few days shy of her 14th birthday when she made her Olympic debut as a swimmer in four events at the 1988 Games. She started swimming at six and became a naturalized Filipino citizen through an Act of Congress at 12. Thomson was born to an American father Marshall and a Japanese mother Hiroko Nakamura. In 1988, she clocked 59.41 seconds to finish first in the third heat of the 100-meter freestyle but still didn’t advance. In 1992, Thomson was first in the first heat of the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:07:95. She swam in two events. In 1996, she competed in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter individual medley.

Adolfo (Chito) Feliciano

17 . One of the country’s top shooters ever, Feliciano won a gold, two silvers and a bronze at the World Championships in Germany in 1966 and two golds and a bronze in the same tournament in Phoenix a year later. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, it’s a little-known fact that he took the silver in “marksmanship,” a demonstration sport. Feliciano’s first Olympics came in 1960 when he placed 51st of 54 in the small-bore rifle with 1,083 points in three positions. In 1964, he competed in the small-bore rifle prone and three positions. In 1968, Feliciano added the free rifle as a third event where he wound up 22nd of 30. The sharpshooter captured gold medals at the 1954 and 1958 Asian Games. A Philippine Navy officer, he died in a helicopter crash while supervising the training of the sniper division of the Armed Forces in 1972.

Carlos Loyzaga

18 . Known as the Big Difference, King Caloy was named to the mythical first team of the World Championships in Rio de Janeiro in 1954 when the Philippines finished third. The San Beda College star played at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. In Helsinki, the Philippines opened its campaign with back-to-back wins over Israel, 57-47 and Hungary, 48-35. But in the next round, the Philippines beat only Canada, 81-65, and lost to Argentina, 85-59 and Brazil, 71-52, to bow out of contention. The national team was coached by Fely Fajardo. Loyzaga anchored the squad with Campos, Tony Genato, Paing Hechanova, Eddie Lim, Nano Tolentino, Pocholo Martinez and Pons Saldana. In 1956, the Philippines took seventh place – the second loftiest finish ever by an Asian country in Olympic basketball. China has placed no higher than eighth in 1996, 2004 and 2008. Loyzaga was reunited with Campos, Genato, Lim and Tolentino in coach Leo Prieto’s squad.

Leopoldo Cantancio

19.The two-time Olympic fighter narrowly missed out on a medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. The lightweight contender fell a win short of a bronze. He beat Malawi’s Solomon Kondowe, Pakistan’s Kamran Dar and Nigeria’s Christopher Ossai before running into Korean Chun Chil Sung in the quarterfinals. Cantancio was ahead on points when Chun landed a vicious left hook to the jaw coming off a break from a clinch. Cuban referee Basulto Morales counted the dazed Filipino out on his feet. The Philippines’ American coach Eugene Menacho was in total shock. At the 1988 Olympics, Cantancio returned for an encore but this time, was booted out in his first bout by Russia’s Kotsya Tszyu who later became a world champion in the pros.

Ambrosio Padilla

20 . In the basketball inaugurals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the Philippines ended up fifth, an all-time high for an Asian country. To this day, the record still stands among Asian nations. Padilla, later the president of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (now the Philippine Olympic Committee) and a Senator, was the national team captain. With Chito Calvo as coach, the Philippines posted a 5-1 record, losing only a 56-23 decision to the gold medalist US. Curiously, the Mexican squad that registered a 4-2 mark brought home the bronze. Poland had a 2-4 slate but wound up fourth. The Philippines, dubbed the Islanders, defeated Mexico, 32-30, in the second round but the loss to the US in the quarterfinals relegated the Filipinos to only a playoff for fifth. The Philippines crushed Italy, 32-14, and Uruguay, 33-23, to clinch fifth. Among Padilla’s teammates were Jacinto Ciria-Cruz, Franco Marquicias, Jess Marzan, Primitivo Martinez, Bibiano Ouano and Johnny Worrel. Padilla died in 1996 at the age of 85.

Rodolfo Arpon

21. The lightweight boxer reached the quarterfinals at the 1964 Olympics after whipping Denmark’s Borge Krogh and Great Britain’s James Dunne via identical 4-1 decisions. But Arpon met his match in the US’ Ronald Harris who cruised to a 5-0 shutout in Tokyo. The loss left Arpon a win shy of bagging a sure bronze.

Pedro Landero

22. At the 1952 Barcelona Games, the bantamweight lifter hoisted 292.5 kilograms and placed sixth of 19. Russia’s Ivan Udodov took the gold with a lift of 315 kilograms, an Olympic record. In 1956, Landero attempted to improve on his showing but failed in the press to slide to last among 16 competitors. It was Landero’s final Olympic stint.

Arturo Macapagal

23. The sharpshooting son of former President Diosdado Macapagal was 29 when he made his Olympic debut at the 1972 Munich Games, totaling 533 points in free pistol to rank 47th of 59. A graduate of San Beda College and the Asian Institute of Management, Macapagal also competed at the 1976 Olympics where he compiled 534 points in free pistol to place 37th of 47. He later became president of the Philippine National Shooting Association and now heads the Philippine Olympians Association.

Elma Muros

24. The remarkable thing about Muros’ two Olympic appearances was they came 12 years apart. Muros was only 17 at the 1984 Los Angeles Games where she leaped to 5.64 meters in the long jump to finish ninth in the first round. The winner of 15 Southeast Asian Games gold medals, she was on the 1984 track squad with Hector Begeo, Agrifina de la Cruz, Isidro del Prado, Lydia de Vega and Leonard Illut. In 1996, she was 29 at the Atlanta Olympics, resurfacing to mark 6.04 meters for 13th place among 25.

John Baylon

25. The nine-time Southeast Asian Games judo gold medalist ended his incredible reign in the region at the age of 47 last year. Despite his superiority in the biennial competitions, Baylon was nowhere near advancing beyond the eliminations in two Olympics. He competed as a half-middleweight at the 1988 Games and was ousted in his first bout. Baylon was back for the 1992 Games, again as a half-middleweight, and the outcome was the same. Although Baylon failed to win a single matchch in two Olympics, he made his mark representing the country as Southeast Asia’s champion for 22 years.

Lydia De Vega

26. Crowned Asia’s sprint queen after topping the 100-meter race at the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games, De Vega was a phenom on the track. She was 19 at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, clocking 11.97 seconds for sixth place in the second round in the 100-meters and 25.1 for sixth in the first heat in the 200 meters. Qualifying for the second round was a feat in itself considering the level of competition. In 1988, De Vega chopped off a fraction of a second from her previous time and checked in at 11.67 in the 100 meters but failed to advance, landing in 35th spot. She competed in the 100-meter hurdles and clocked 14.36 seconds and was also eliminated with a final placing of 31st.

The list would’ve included four Filipino athletes who claimed Olympic medals in demonstration sports but their efforts are unrecognized in record books that keep count only of placings in regular events. The four are Arianne Cerdeña who won the gold in women’s bowling in 1988, Willy Wang who topped the men’s Nanquan and Nangun combined event in wushu in 2008, Stephen Fernandez who claimed the bronze as a bantamweight in taekwondo in 1992 and Bea Lucero who took the bronze as a featherweight in taekwondo in 1992.