Nancy Navalta story on MMK

One of the country’s top young actresses transforms into one of the finest, most controversial athletes of her generation as ABS-CBN presents Alessandra de Rossi in the role of track and field champion Nancy Navalta on Maalaala Mo Kaya tonight.

What she dreamt of, she nearly achieved. When she ran, she was a star. But when she stepped off the running field, her life was a magnet for discussion, controversy and intrigue. Nancy Navalta burst onto the country’s consciousness in the ’90s, a teenager whose gift for running vaulted her into the top tier of Philippine athletes, to the surprise of many sports insiders. Her gift brought her victories at the Palarong Pambansa and the Philippine National Games of 1994, but it was not her uncanny talent for sprinting that had people talking, but her rather masculine frame.

In this episode, Maalaala Mo Kaya takes us along the incredible journey of Nancy Navalta, from her struggles as the second child of a very impoverished family, to the days of her heady success and to her controversial gender verification test, given to her as part of her qualifications for the SEA Games. Rory B. Quintos directs this episode from a script by Gilbeys Sardea.