Olympic golden quest resumes

Updated 00:20am (Mla time) Aug 03, 2004
By Lorenzo Z. Manguiat
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on page A21 of the August 3, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


GREEK mythology recounts tales of mortals seeking to touch the gods, dreaming of one day being able to dwell among them in the rarefied territory that is Mt. Olympus.

Now, in the very land where such tales of heroes and divinity were born, the Filipino athlete, earthly and temporal being that he is, continues his quest for Olympic immortality among the pantheon of gods that inhabit the sporting realm.

This archipelago in the Far East has participated in 17 stagings of the greatest sporting event since 1924, yet none of the Filipinos have returned from their journey with that one prize they so covet -- a medal of gold. They all dared to dream of a golden harvest, yet 80 years have passed and the bounty includes two silvers and seven bronzes -- but still no hint of gold.

In all, 359 athletes in 19 different sports disciplines have so far represented the Philippines in the Summer Games. The biggest Philippine contingent was composed of 64 athletes during the 1964 Tokyo

Olympics. The smallest delegation was made up of just one athlete -- David Nepomuceno, who ran the 100-meter and 200m events during the 1924 Paris Olympics. The country missed the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which it opted to boycott following the lead of the United States.

The two silver medals were pocketed by boxers Anthony Villanueva and Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco. Villanueva settled for second place in the featherweight division against the Soviet Union's Stanislav Stepashkin during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Velasco equaled Villanueva's feat in bowing to Bulgaria's Daniel Bojilov in the light fly finals of the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

The seven bronze medals were netted by swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, tracksters Simeon Toribio and Miguel White and boxers Jose "Cely" Villanueva, Leopoldo Serantes and Roel Velasco.

Yldefonso holds the distinction of being the first Filipino Olympic medal winner when he took home the bronze in the men's 200-m breaststroke event during the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. Yldefonso is likewise the only Filipino to win more than one medal as he again finished third in the same event in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

The Philippines had its biggest haul in 1932 as Yldefonso, Torribio and Cely Villanueva each won a bronze for their efforts.

Three other Filipinos have also won medals in demonstration/exhibition sports. Arianne Cerdeña won the gold in ladies' bowling during the 1988 Seoul Olympics while Stephen Fernandez and Bea Lucero each got a bronze in taekwondo during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

This year, 16 more Filipino combatants will encounter the greatest challenge of their athletic careers. On their shoulders are borne the hopes of more than 80 million citizens longing for that singular moment when our flag is raised high above all others and the familiar tune of our national anthem is played on the background.

The Filipino's Olympic odyssey begins anew.

Sad to say that the Philippine government should stay in focus with the quest of having at least 1 Olympic gold medal before the Arroyo government step down from office by 2010 a reality!

aw, too bad. we can't win 'coz i don't have the financial support of the government to play. nah, just joking. yes, let us all hope for the best to win even one gold! that's already a great feat for a nation that is being ridiculed by others as cursed. well, let's show them who we are. they never realised how Filipinos really excel.

But , Our country should also prepare for the 2005 SEA Games in the Philippines!