139. FILIPINO OLYMPIADS AND THE TOKYO GOLD
The Filipino
communities around the globe rejoiced as the news became viral in social media with
the Philippines securing its first Olympic gold medal after 97 years of drought.
Goose bumps never left me as I watched the entire weightlifting event. The
awarding ceremonies made me cry as I proudly sang the Lupang Hinirang while I
witnessed the raising of our national flag leading two others, the first time
in the history of the Olympics.
This momentous day of our history as a nation was starred by no less than a Filipina, Hidilyn Diaz. At the spur of the moment, I began scribbling a poem in Filipino and gave the title “Hidilyn Diaz, Hiyas ng Pinas” and posted in Facebook which eventually led to an interview by Bombo Radyo. This was my simple way of honoring the great Filipina. Diaz received many accolades which include numerous financial pledges and even three houses and lots and a condo unit. Her hometown Zamboanga City even proposed for the erection of a monument in her honor. Iloilo City gave a lifetime free La Paz Batchoy and Pancit Molo while artists drew her image. Phoenix Petroleum, aside from a cash award, gave her a lifetime free fuel while Foton presented her a thirteen-seater van. Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air and Air Asia bestowed to her free flights for life. L’Oreal Group offered her a beauty package plus cash while free meals for life from several restaurants and lifetime supply of milk tea from several shops and even free lifetime tattoo and oil change. In the next days, three other Filipino athletes secured two silvers and a bronze and were pledged with cash and in kind incentives.
Looking back, a total of 12 Filipino Olympiads have won 1 gold medal, 5 silver medals, and 8 bronze medals for the Philippines in the history of the Summer Olympics. The first Filipino medallist was Teofilo Yldefonso (1903-1942) of Piddig, Ilocos Norte, a breaststroke swimmer. He was also the first Southeast Asian to win an Olympic medal (men's 200 meter breaststroke, bronze) in the 1928 Amsterdam (Netherlands) Olympics. He was also the first Filipino to win multiple medals, two bronze on the same event, the other at the Los Angeles (U.S.) Olympics.
The 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics gave the Philippines three bronze medals; Simeon Toribio for athletics men’s high jump; Jose Villanueva of Binondo, Manila for boxing men’s bantamweight and Teofilo Ildefonso for swimming men’s 200 meter breaststroke.
Simeon Galvez Toribio (1905-1969) was a high jumper and competed at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics. Toribio served as the flag bearer for the Philippines at the 1936 Games. In 1930, he was awarded the title "Asia’s Greatest Athlete". He later served as Representative of the 2nd District of Bohol from 1946-1953.
Jose Luis Villanueva (1913-1983) eventually became a boxing trainer and one of his trained fighters was Gabriel Elorde who won a world 130-pound title and held it for seven years. Villanueva’s son, Anthony Villanueva, also became a boxer, and won a silver medal during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
The 1936 Berlin (Germany) Olympics produced a bronze for athletics in the men’s 400 meter hurdles in the person of Miguel S. White (1909-1942) of Legazpi, Albay. He was a member of the Philippine Scouts and was a lieutenant assigned to the 51st Division until he was killed in a military action during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.
After 28 years, during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Anthony Villanueva (1945-2014), son of Olympiad Jose Villanueva, competed in the featherweight (−57 kg) division and won a silver medal. He turned professional shortly after the Olympics but retired after five bouts. Besides boxing, Villanueva worked as an actor and boxing coach in the Philippines and as a security guard in the United States. He died after suffering several strokes. The Villanuevas was the first father and son to win Olympic medals for the Philippines.
After 24 years, Leopoldo Serantes (born 1962) competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul (South Korea) in the Light Flyweight (-48 kg) division, winning the bronze medal. His head coach was the 1964 Olympiad hero, Anthony Villanueva. Serantes, who eventually became a soldier, suffered from a long medical history of pulmonary illness later in life.
In the next 1992 Olympics in Barcelona (Spain), Roel Velasco (born 1969), of Bago City, Negros Occidental, brought home a bronze in the men’s light flyweight (-48 kg) division boxing event. Velasco won the silver medal at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships and was the first Filipino to win a medal in the Goodwill Games by snatching the bronze in the light-flyweight division in boxing in the 1998 New York edition. 1997 was a banner year for Velasco as he added the gold medals in the 1st Muhamad Ali Invitational Boxing Championships in Kentucky, the Italian Boxing Championships and the Roberto Balado Cup in Cuba to his World Championship hardware. Velasco retired from boxing around 2001 and is currently serving with the Philippine Navy with the rank of Petty Officer First Class (P01) while doing double duty as a coach with the Philippine Boxing Team. He is the elder brother of Mansueto Velasco, who won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in the same weight division.
The following 1996 Summer Games secured a silver medal for the Philippines in the men’s light flyweight division. Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco (born 1974) of Bago City, Negros Occidental competed in the 48 kg category. Prior to his Olympics stint, he won a gold medal at the 1994 Asian Games. The boxer later became a comedian and occasional actor. He is the younger brother of 1992 Olympiad bronze medalist, Roel Velasco.
After a quarter of a century, four medals were won by two women and two men. The great Filipino athletes were: Hidilyn Diaz, gold for weightlifting women’s 55 kg; Nesthy Petecio, silver for boxing women’s feather; Carlo Paalam, silver for boxing men’s flyweight; and Eumir Marcial, bronze for boxing men’s middle.
Curious as a bee, I browsed the official Olympic website and looked for the details of the Tokyo medals. I am very keen with these symbols being a numismatist since Grade 5. The gold medal for the Tokyo games is actually made of silver, plated in no more than six grams of gold. It weighs 556 grams, heavier than silver (550 grams) and bronze (450 grams). All three medals have a diameter of 85 millimeters, with a thickness of 7.7 mm at the thinnest part and 12.1 mm at the thickest. Pursuant to specifications of the International Olympic Committee, the obverse side of the medal should bear the image of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, in front of the Panathinaikos Stadium, the Olympic five rings symbol and the official name of the games, in this case -- Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020. The design was selected from 400 entries across Japan, with the winning design coming from Junichi Kawanishi, director of both the Japan Sign Design Association and the Osaka Design Society.
The red, white and blue colors on the medal ribbon are a nod to Japanese design motifs: ichimatsu moyo (harmonised chequered patterns) and kasane no irome (traditional kimono layering techniques) in a modern presentation. Silicone convex lines on the surface of the ribbon help distinguish the type of medal (gold, silver, bronze) simply by touching it. The theme of the medal ribbon is "Unity in Diversity".
With a historic one gold, two silvers and one bronze medal haul, the Philippines emerged as the top performing Southeast Asian country in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. Let this momentum amass more Olympic medallions in the forthcoming 2024 Paris (France) Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. Good luck Pilipinas! Mabuhay ang Pilipino!
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