Iron lady, heart of gold

Elma Muros-Posadas was a simple child in a far-flung little town of Magdiwang, Sibuyan Island in Romblon. Her parents and eight siblings lived in a poor community with no electricity or even television. She was a skinny, sun-kissed, free-spirited child who enjoyed wide open spaces and nature. She ran in huge bloomer shorts, unmindful of her condition.

And she was fast and strong, naturally gifted for track. She was approached by Gov. Isidro Rodriguez of Rizal Province, and invited to live in Marikina Sports Center as a provincial athlete. She would have food, an allowance, an education, a simple but far better future than what she faced in the province.

“We cried. I had no choice. What future did I have there?” Muros-Posadas told The STAR. “My coach said that there would be no one to train me there; there would be no competitions except for the Palaro. My life would be better.”

After repeated victories in the Palarong Pambansa, she was spotted by 1972 Olympian Tony Benson, the Australian coach and lead trainer of national athletes for Project: Gintong Alay. She was invited to join her idol Lydia de Vega, Isidro del Prado and close to two dozen others living, training and studying in Baguio, running long distances up and down the hills, through Camp John Hay, the Philippine Military Academy, and up the elevation of Mount Santo Tomas. But she says her parents prepared her for a life on her own.

“I wanted to help my parents, my siblings. My mother taught me that if you can wash your own clothes, you can go anywhere,” Elma shared. “My father said, now that I could do whatever I wanted, I should never be boastful.”

She became the workhorse of Gintong Alay, dominating the long jump, hurdles, even the heptathlon. Anything they asked, she did. Even after endless hours of training, she steeled herself further by doing extra work on the hiking trails behind Teachers Camp without anyone knowing. And the results showed.

With the help of her coach and husband Jojo Posadas, Elma developed into a powerful, explosive athlete. Two medals in the Asian Games and an unequalled 15 gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games, the most for any Philippine athlete. Six of those golds were in the long jump. But their favorite would have to be the two unlikely golds in the 1995 SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Lydia had just retired, and there were fears that the country would lose its dominance in the sprints. Jojo said there would be nothing to lose if they tried to step into Diay’s huge footprints. Underestimated by her opponents, a thoroughly prepared Elma blasted her way to victory in the 100 and 200 meter runs. In a beautiful coincidence, De Vega was covering the races for People’s Television, and proudly sighed with relief that the Philippines kept the crown she had protected for years. It was a fitting exclamation to a career filled with heartbreaks and triumphs.

The full story of Elma Muros-Posadas will be on “Masters of the Game” tomorrow at 8 p.m. on PTV.