The tremendous success of the athletes of Southern Tagalog Athletic Association (STAA) in the Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletics Association (BPISAA), owes much to the sports training program initiated by Rizal Gov. Isidro Rodriguez.
Every year, Rizal sports officials go out on scouting campaigns in provincial and regional meets looking for potential additions to their deep athletic talent pool. One of the most outstanding athletes ever to emerge from this initiative was the discovery of a 12-year old running prodigy, ROSALINDA F. YUMOL in 1961.
The diminutive Yumol was born of humble beginnings on 25 April 1949 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, one of 10 children of Andres Yumol and Wenifreda Fuertes. The large brood included brothers Andres (+), Albert (+), Fortuno, Arnel, and sisters Ethelrida, Luzviminda, Erlinda, Esther, Sherlin and Mary May.
She spent her early schooling at the Puerto Princesa
Elementary School, where her running talent became apparent when she began
representing her school in meets. At age 12, she could beat older and taller
girls in sprints and middle distance running. Her track victories caught the
attention of Rizal governor Rodriguez, who promised to sponsor her college schooling after her graduation from
Palawan National High School in 1967.
Thereafter, she was recruited and became a ward of the province, given a scholarship at the Rizal Memorial Sports Academy, with a focus on Physical Education, while living and training in the same sports complex. She graduated from Rizal College in 1969.
Yumol amazed her coaches for her exceptional speed and endurance; her size did not seem to matter, outrunning girls in races across all distances—sprints (100m./200 m./400 m.) and distance events (800m. and up). She also added the relays to her specialties, teaming up with brilliant runners like Amelita Alanes, Lucila Salao, and Aida Mantawel who towered above her.
At the Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletics
Association Games (BPISAA) held from 11-17 April 1972 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur,
Yumol became a national sensation when she won the 400 meter and 800 meter
distance run. Thought considered for the Olympic women’s track 4 x 100 relay
team with Salao, Mantawel and Alanes, it was runner Carmen Torres who was
picked instead to complete the quartet. The Philippine team was disqualified in
the first heat in Munich.
Eventually, in 1973, Yumol was included in the 4 x 400 m. relay line-up to run in the inaugural Asian Athletics Championships held from 18-23 Nov. at the Rodriguez Sports Center in Marikina, Rizal, Philippines. Before the hometown crowd, the tiny Yumol ran the race of her life, and together with her team mates Mantawel, Alanes and Torres, bagged the Gold with an exceptional time of 3:48.9 mins, way ahead of the Singapore (3:50. 1) and Taipei (3:57.8) teams. The same group added a Bronze for the Philippines in the 4x100m relay event with a clocking of 47.7 secs.
From 1970 to 1980, Yumol enlisted in the Philippine Army
and achieved the rank of Technical Sergeant, while running for national track
team. She also forayed to Marathon running, becoming the first Filipina to
compete in international marathons including Boston, Hawaii, Vancouver,
Jakarta, Singapore, Hongkong, Korea, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.
In the mid 1980s, she came to the U.S. to observe the 1984 Olympic trials and decided to remain here. By the 1990s, she moved to the West Coast where she worked in the medical field for 20 years as a Certified Nursing Assistant at the OB/Gyne Department of St. Mary’s Medical Center-Long Beach. It was about that time, in 1997, that she met David Brandow, who also worked in the medical field, who dabbled in diving on the side. They were married in 1999, and Yumol gained 2 stepchildren, Bryan Brando and Jamie Russell. Her sons from a previous relationship were Joy Ross Santiago, and Seagfred Yumol. Yumol finally became a U.S. citizen in 2006 and held a Filipino-American dual citizenship.
Upon her retirement in 2015, Yumol enjoyed her domestic life and indulged in her passion for gardening, often creating flower arrangements to the cemetery to honor loved ones who have passed away. She was a prayer group member with El Shaddai.
Yumol finally had the time to holiday in Canada, but what she looked forward most was her regular Philippine visits. In 2018, she and her husband spent New Year’s Day in the Philippines. Sadly, it would be her last. On 25 May 2018, Rosalinda Yumol-Brandow--the tiny runner who was a titan on the tartan track--passed away in Lakewood, California, at age 69.
SOURCES:
Athletics Podium: https://athleticspodium.com/athlete/46591/rosalinda-yumol
Luyben Dilday Mortuary: Rosalinda Yumol-Brando Obituary, https://www.luybendilday.com/obituary/6541720
“The Speed that Thrills”, The Sunday Times Magazine, 7
May 1972
FB Page, Rosalinda Yumol-Brandow
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