Concepcion brothers (Part 2)

In yesterday’s column, we began a three-part series on the lives of Filipino Olympic brothers Lee and Guy Concepcion. Lee, now 48, swam in two events at the 1988 Seoul Games and three at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics while Guy, now 47, competed in four events at the 1988 edition.

Lee took up political science at the University of California-Berkeley where he was a varsity All-American swimmer. After ending his competitive swimming career, Lee was a coach for a year with the Xavier Swim Club. Then, he found his true calling as a pastor, earning a Master’s degree in leadership ministry at the Victory Leadership Institute in Global City in 2014. Today, he serves at Victory Pioneer, a Christian church in Mandaluyong.

Reflecting on his swimming career, Lee pointed to three athletes who were his role models. “I looked up to 1984 Olympic medalist Steve Lundquist, a breaststroker but our body type was quite different so I couldn’t really swim like him,” he said. “Matt Biondi was a teammate at Berkeley and watching him train and his humility taught me a lot. I truly enjoy watching Michael Phelps swim and am amazed at what he has accomplished in our sport. Facebook has helped me keep in touch with my teammates at Berkeley but that’s the extent of our contact.”

Lee said in every Olympic year, he’s inspired to reflect on his experience in Seoul and Barcelona. “My kids want to hear stories about my swimming,” he said. Lee and wife Jiji Fabregas are blessed with five children – Daniel, 14, Ian, 12, Luke, 10, Sabrina, 8 and Andrew, 6. While the children know how to swim, none has gone the competitive route. But Lee said lately, his youngest child, Andrew, has been talking of someday competing in the Olympics like him. “Maybe, 14 or 18 years from now, we’ll see,” said Lee.

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Unlike Lee who has settled in Manila, Guy moved to the US with his family in May last year.  Guy lives in Los Angeles with his wife Tricia Chiongbian and their two sons, Paolo, 6, and Rory, 3. Tricia is an accomplished athlete herself and a TV personality. Rory is a special Down Syndrome child and a cancer survivor with leukemia. While Rory has been cleared of cancer, he needs to be monitored closely by doctors for at least the next five years.

Guy graduated from elementary at La Salle Greenhills then went to Junipero Serra High in San Mateo, California, where he was a prep All-American for four years in swimming. He also played water polo at Serra. The Concepcions’ exploits led to their enshrinement at the Serra High Sports Hall of Fame with stars like Barry Bonds, Tom Brady and Lynn Swann.

From high school, Guy swam for the Berkeley varsity, like Lee, and finished with a degree in history in 1991. He later earned a Master’s degree in film at Columbia University in New York in 2000.

It was in 1979 when Guy captured his first medal, a bronze, in an international event at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Age Group Championships in Kuala Lumpur. Guy swam in seven SEA Age Group competitions, fishing out 34 gold, eight silver and two bronze medals from 1979 to 1986. He collected one gold, six silver and eight bronze medals in three SEA Games in 1983, 1985 and 1987. In 1984, Guy set his first two national records at the age of 15 in the 200 and 400-meter individual medley at the SEA Age Group Championships in Ipoh, Malaysia.

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Guy swam at the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 Olympics, both in Seoul, then bagged two gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Age Group Championships in New Delhi in 1994. After a long layoff, Guy returned to competitive swimming in the 10-kilometer open water event at the FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup in Eilat, Israel, in 2012. “I was the first-ever Filipino to join the open water World Cup,” he said.  “Not bad for an old guy who competed against swimmers half my age and twice my height.” That was his last major competitive swimming experience.

Guy was the La Salle varsity swimming coach from 2002 to 2012 during which the Archers claimed five UAAP titles and multiple MVP and Rookie of the Year awards. He was also head coach of the Philippine team at the SEA Age Group Championships in 1994 and 2003 and the SEA Games in 2003.

Guy, the youngest of seven, and Lee were the only competitive swimmers in the family. “I hate to admit this but I haven’t been in the water for almost two years,” said Guy. “Currently, I need to be a full-time dad and husband. That is the longest stretch in my life that I have not swum at all. I can’t wait to swim again.” Guy’s preoccupation is his family because of his son’s condition.

Guy said his wife Tricia is a much better athlete than him. “She can swim, bike, mountain bike, spin bike, run and climb mountains forever and ever,” he said. “She can play classical piano. She dances well but I think I can out-karaoke her. Tricia was a TV newscaster and event host until she became a full-time mom.”

More about Guy in the final chapter on the Concepcion brothers in Sunday’s column.