IT was a century-and-two years ago in May 1924, when the Philippines had its very first foray in the Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Long before Filipino athletes Hidilyn Diaz and Carlos Yulo put the Philippines on the world sporting map in recent years, the Philippines sent a two-man delegation to the 1924 Paris Olympics.
The country’s official flag bearers then were Dr. Renato Ylanan, bemedalled track-and-field athlete and coach of the Philippine delegation, and David Nepomuceno, the first Filipino to qualify for the Paris Olympics after clocking a record 9.45 seconds in the 100-meter dash.
The formidable pair would pave the way for future Filipino athletes who dreamed of competing internationally and capturing an Olympic gold.
Dr. Ylanan and Nepomuceno’s noteworthy participation in the 1924 Paris Olympics is a compelling story that Archivo 1984 puts itself to task with its latest publication—The First Filipino Olympians: the Untold Story of Dr. Renato Ylanan and David Nepomuceno.
Writers Lorenzo Manguiat, Isidra Reyes and Gerard Lico did a commendable job in telling the story of the Philippines’s first sporting heroes and their milestone achievements, the country’s Olympic participation in 1924, through the seasons, and how it has come full circle a century later.
Due attention is given to other stellar athletes who raised the bar for the Philippines after them, and the development and promotion of amateur sports and physical education in the country.
Manila’s prominent sporting venues that served as training ground for the country’s athletes also have a special place in the book. Vintage photographs add dimension to the story of the Philippines’s pre-war and post-war sports journey in every chapter.
Interesting facts in the book include Dr. Ylanan meeting Canadian-American physical education instructor, Dr. James Naismith, who invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts, home of Ylanan’s alma mater, the YMCA in Springfield (now Springfield College).
One entry on the school’s educational philosophy in its information booklet raised a relevant food for thought about how sports—as in humanities—makes a country: “the importance of educating individuals in mind, body, and spirit to cultivate leadership abilities gendered towards serving others.”
It makes one wonder how far ahead the country would be today, if only we could shape its politics the same way.
The book, intended to commemorate the country’s hundredth year taking part in the international games and to celebrate the Philippines’s historic participation in 1924, was not without its share of challenges.
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