The Philippines came home with no medal in the last two Olympic Games – Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. In Beijing this year, the odds are stacked even higher against the Filipino athletes, but then I am hoping for the best.
Boxer Harry Tañamor has a very heavy load on his shoulders as he is considered as the best chance for the Philippines to come up with something in China. He is the only Pinoy boxer to qualify for the Olympics and I am hoping that indeed he would make it.
Looking back at the past Olympics since 1924 when the Philippines first took part in the quadrennial Games, our nation has only won 9 medals.
Our first Olympic medal came in the 1928 Games in Amsterdam courtesy of Teofilo Yldefonso, who won the bronze medal in the 200 meters backstroke event.
Yldefonso won a second bronze in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics in the same event. It was considered as the best-ever performance for the Philippines in terms of number of medals won as two others also won bronze medals – high jumper Simeon Toribio and bantamweight boxer Jose ‘Cely’ Villanueva.
In the 1936 Berlin Games, Miguel White won a bronze medal for the Philippines in the 400-meter hurdles event.
It took the country a long time to win another medal and this came in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics when Anthony Villanueva, Cely’s son, took the silver medal in the featherweight division of the boxing event after losing what many called a “controversial” decision against Russia’s Stanislav Stephaskin.
Again the country produced nothing in the next several Olympics – 1972 in Munich, 1976 in Montreal, and 1984 in Los Angeles. We skipped the 1980 Moscow Olympics to join the Americans and other countries, which boycotted the event.
In 1988 Seoul Olympics, light flyweight boxer Leopoldo Serantes ended the long dry spell for the Philippines as he took the bronze medal.
It was also in this competition that the country won its first and only gold in the Olympics courtesy of bowler Arianne Cerdeña. Unfortunately, that gold medal wasn’t included in the official tally as bowling was only a demonstration sport.
In Barcelona in 1992, the Philippines won another bronze in boxing courtesy of Roel Velasco also in the light flyweight division. This was actually another good year for the Philippines as the country won a total of three bronze medals, but those won by featherweight Stephen Fernandez and bantamweight Bea Lucero in taekwondo were not also included in the official tally as it was only a demonstration event then.
Four years later in Atlanta, Roel’s younger brother Mansueto ‘Onyok’ Velasco, Jr. won the second silver for the country in the light flyweight division of the boxing event. Just like in 1964, many cried foul over the decision as Bulgaria’s Daniel Boujilov was awarded the gold.
Along with millions of other Filipinos in 1996, I waited until early dawn for that bout on television only to feel disappointed in the end. Sports anchor Ron de los Reyes, who covered the bout probably said it all when the decision was announced “we we’re robbed,” he said.Onyok did come home a hero and in fact, I joined his entourage when he came to Cebu along with my good friend, then Philippine Sports Commissioner Monico Puentevella, who is now the congressman representing the lone district of Bacolod City.
Congressman Nyok’s passion for sports continues despite him being full-time in politics and the last time we sat down for a chat at his residence in Bacolod City early this year, we could not help but talk about sports all night with the sports editors from the national newspapers.
Our cheer for the next couple of weeks should be “Go Team Philippines!” And then, when the Games are over, we should continue to feel the Olympic spirit to drive our sports leaders and athletes to work harder.