39. Swimmer RENÉ AMABUYOK, 1948 Olympian, Asian Games Medalist, Swim Coach

One of the country’s finest post-war swimmers to emerge from the far South was RENÉ  TALITI AMABUYOK, born 10 July 1923, of Japanese-Filipino lineage, in Zamboanga City, Zamboanga. At the age of 10, he took up swimming, and became so proficient that he progressed to competitive swimming in his high school years at Zamboanga High School.

After his graduation, the young Rene moved to Manila and enrolled at Mapua Institute in 1939 to take up Physical Education. There, he honed his swimming skills as a member of the Mapua Swimming Team, helping win championship trophies for his school in many inter-collegiate meets.

When the Japanese-led global war reached the Pacific in 1941, Rene dropped out of Mapua and transferred to the National College of Physical Education (N.C.P.E.), a school founded in 1932 by the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (P.A.A.F.). There, he secured his certificate in Physical Education.

During all these years, Rene and his family kept a low profile being partly Japanese. When the defeat of Japan became imminent, the family Filipinized their surname of Koyubama, reversing the spelling to ‘Amabuyok’, to avert any possible ill feelings towards their Japanese link, even if they considered themselves as true and loyal Filipinos.

Sure enough, when the war came to a close and a sense normalcy began to settle in the country as re-building began in earnest, Rene Koyubama, now known as Rene Amabuyok, resumed his swimming career determined to represent the Philippines and raise its flag abroad. By this time, he was turning in incredible times in national meets, especially in the breaststroke, backstroke and the new butterfly events.

Though Amabuyok never dreamed he would someday be a great swimmer, his qualification to the lean 26-man Philippine Olympic team gave him an opportunity to prove his worth and stretch his potential. Amabuyok was just one of 3 swimmers sent to compete in London held at the end of July in 1948. UST’s Jacinto Cayco and Letran’s Sambiao Basanung completed the swim team.

Amabuyok was entered in only one event—the 200 meter breaststroke the same event at the 1928 Olympics where Teofilo Yldefonso made history by claiming Bronze, the 1^st Filipino Olympic medalist. To get to the finals, he had to hurdle the First Round of Heats that would determine the Semifinalists.

The First Round consisted of 5 Heats; the first 2 finishers of each heat—plus the 6 fastest losers get to advance to the Semifinals. Amabuyok swam in Heat 1 and landed 4^th with a time of 2: 52.6 minutes. When the Semifinalists’ names were called, Amabuyok was one of them.

The Semifinals Round saw Amabuyok grouped again with U.S. Robert Sohl, who had swum with him and who had topped the First Round Heat 1. Amabuyok bettered his time to 2: 51.8 mins,, placing 6^th among 8 swimmers.

In the Semifinals, the first 3 fastest, plus the 2 fastest losers will fight it out for the Finals. When all the times of the 2 semifinal heat swimmers were tallied, Amabuyok found himself in 11^th place, and was thus eliminated. Still, his 11^th place finish among 32 swimmers was a creditable accomplishment.  In the end, the 200 m. breaststroke finals became an all-American finish, with Joseph Verdure (1^st), Keith Carter (2^nd) and Robert Sohl (3^rd) as winners,

London would be his first and last Olympics. His next competition was at the Manila-Hongkong Interport Meet of 1949 which the Philippines topped. Then the inaugural 1^st  Asian Games opened in New Delhi, India in 1951. There, Amabuyok was entered in his favorite 200 m. breaststroke event and won a Silver Medal in 2:54.8 minutes behind his team mate Jacinto Cayco, who won Gold in 2:54.4, a new games record.  

In his sterling swimming career, Amabuyok also mastered the new butterfly stroke, which only became an independent event beginning in 1956 at the Melbourne Olympics. He held the 100 m. butterfly record (1:14.8 mins.)  for 7 years (1950-1956), until his student, , teen sensation Freddie Elizalde broke it at a 1956 High School Boys swim league with a time of 1:12.6 mins.

After his retirement, Amabuyok became a coach of the Indians Swim Teams of the American School in Manila, handling both the girls and boys varsity teams. He led the teams to several significant wins in meets like those mounted by the Manila Athletic Association for Secondary Schools.

At the 1958 National Intersecondary School Meet, the American School, paced by the aforementioned Freddie Elizalde, captured the Boys Division  championship title to put an end to FEU’s domination of the tournament.

In inter-department school presentation, Coach Amabuyok, with his fine singing voice (he moonlit as a professional singer), would join the swimming team in musical productions. Off-season would find him either swimming at the Rizal Memorial pool or taking care of his wife and 7 children, 5 girls and 2 boys. It is interesting to note that one of her daughters, Arene Cecilia “Pinky” Anas Amabuyok became the Philippine beauty delegate to the 1968 Miss World Contest in London. She placed 5^th , the first time a Filipino reached the finals of the oldest beauty pageant in the world.

Asked about the pronouncement of her daughter’s supposed wish to become a nun—news that generated buzz around the world—coach Amabuyok said he knew nothing about his daughter becoming a nun. “She’s just like any other girl,” he said.

Amabuyok remained as a much-loved coach of the American School—now known as International School based in Makati—until his retirement. From the 70s onwards, there has been no news, nor any details of his passing—but swimmer, coach and Olympian Rene Amabuyok will always be known as a multi-faceted athlete whose love for mentoring young swimmers knows no bounds.

 SOURCES:

1948 London Olympics Official Report, LA84 Digital Library, https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/5717/

Rene Amabuyok, Olympedia

Photo Credits: Pinky A. Santos FB Page : (Coach Amabuyok, with Indian Swim Team of American School/ Amabuyok with Trophy)/ Rodante Sacdalan FB Page: (Rep Men’s Swimming Team 1^st Asian Games, New Delhi, India/ American School articles: “R. Amabuyok, Swim Coach”; “Swimming Season Starts”/ Nostalgia Manila, “ Amabuyok,Baker Rizal Swim Meet 1952”