Mr Beech still hoping for Phl to win 1st gold

MANILA, Philippines - Enrique Beech, perhaps the greatest all-around athlete the country has ever produced, is praying he’d see the day the Philippines wins an Olympic gold.

“There is hope,” said Beech, winner of the bronze medals in trap shooting in the Asian Games, first in 1954 in Manila and then in 1960 in Tokyo.

Beech also made it to the Olympics twice, as member of the Philippine shooting team to the 1956 and 1960 Summer Games in Melbourne and Rome.

Before trying his hand in shooting, he was the finest football player in the land, being the only Filipino chosen for the Asian selection for a European stint in 1948.

He turned to golf and became a champion in the seniors rank.

“Ah, those were the days,” he said in a soft tone.

Beech, now a consultant with the Philippine Sports Commission, is turning 92 on Aug. 14. He’s not in the pink of health.

He is perhaps the oldest living sports great from the Philippines.

“All my teammates then are gone,” said Beech.

The legendary athlete was having lunch at the PSC canteen the other day when The STAR chanced upon him, and lent him an ear.

He said he tries hard to catch up on the latest in the ongoing London Olympics, where almost half of the 11 Filipino athletes have been shown the exit.

“Are they all out now?” he asked.

Then he was told there are a handful others in the hunt, particularly boxer Mark Anthony Barriga who shoots for a quarterfinals slot against a fighter from Kazakhstan tonight.

Beech aired some of his frustrations with the Filipino athletes.

“We all used to play for flag and country and nothing more than that. We did not compete for the money. When we go out, the objective was to bring home a medal.

“There are three medals in your sport. Bring home any of them. We always went for the medal. We don’t go there to bring souvenirs home,” said Beech.

He said the Philippines would someday win the gold in the Olympics, and hoped he’d still be around when it happens.