The Philippines sent its first judokas to compete in the 1964
Tokyo Olympics, and it took 8 years to send another contingent of 3, this
time to the 1972 summer games in Munich. Of the three, GERONIMO
Samonte DYOGI, was the most seasoned at age 23, and was also the best
performing after their judo events, landing 12th among over 20
judokas.
Nicknamed Ronnie, he was born on 20 July 1949 in Manila to Ramon Dyogi Sr. and the former Aurora Samonte. His father was a Philippine consular accountant, which allowed the family to travel. From age 6 to 12, he lived in Japan. Back then, the young Ronnie showed his athleticism, and took up the Japanese martial sports of judo. He trained at the famed trained Kodokan Institute in Tokyo, by judo founder Jigoro Kano in 1882. At age 15, he got his first dan (first degree) black belt in Japan—and never looked back.
Returning to the Philippines as a young adult, he attended the Mapúa Institute of Technology, and continued to pursue the sport. He won third place in three Asian Judo Championships held in the Philippines (1966), Kaohsiung, Taiwan (1970), and Seoul, South Korea (1974)
In 1969, Dyogi was the lone representative to the World Championships held in Mexico (5th place), and also saw action at the 6th World Championship in Ludwigshafen, West Germany in 1971 (7th place). The Summer Games of the 20th Olympiad, scheduled on 5 Sep. 1972, opened up an opportunity for a token Philippine representation to the Judo events.
Geronimo, then already with Far Eastern University, along with Renato Repuyan of Meralco (Iighweight), and Navy’s Fernando Garcia (light heavyweight). Welterweight Oscar Bautista was left out by the National Olympic Committee for lack of funds. Coach Peter Calibo, who frankly assessed that their chances of podium finishes were “slim”, handled the overall training of the trio.
In April 1972, the judo team went to Los Baños to undergo a “special 8-days concentrated training” under the tutelage of Suzumi Oikawa, a member of the Japanese Peace Corps and a 3rd dan. He was replaced by another Peace Corps member Toyoji Aoki, a 4th dan, after he competed his stint in the country.
The Judo Team of Dyogi, Repuyan and Garcia joined the compact Philippine delegation of 53 athletes (48 men, 5 women) to Munich, West Germany in September 1972 for the biggest fights of their lives.
Competing in the welterweight division (now half-middleweight), Dyogi’s Olympic profile sheet describes him as 167 cm tall (5’6”) and weighing 70 kg. (154 pounds). He defeated Hong Kong’s Mok Cheuk Wing by “yuseigachi” (win by decision), but in his next match, he lost by a half-point (“ouchigari”, a foot technique throw) to Austria’s Gerold Jungwirth. He stood in joint 12th place with 5 other judokas in a field of 28 athletes.
With the Olympics over, Ronnie put his competitive years behind to join his family who had immigrated to the United States. It was in San Francisco, California that he met his future wife, Evelyn. They got married in 1977, and put up his own car repair business to support their 2 daughters. He moved his family to Texas after he secured a job in the Public Works Division of the City of West University Place.
Geronimo Dyogi retired after 15 years of service and was accorded with many awards—including a recognition from the city for having an Olympian in its midst. The judo master passed away just 3 days after his 67th birthday on 23 Jul. 2016 in Sugarland, Texas, bringing to a close the life of an athlete who so ably represented the country on the world’s major sporting stages.
It would take another 16 years before the Philippines would send again Filipino judokas to another Olympics—that held in Seoul in 1988. The three—Jerry Dino, John Baylon, and Benjamin McMurray were not expected to “slay” the competition in Korea, but their presence alone—much like their Munich predecessors Garcia, Repuyan and Dyogi-- embodies the credo of the Olympics: that even if victory is not achieved, it is the value of participation, of taking part in the pursuit of excellence that matters most.
SOURCES:
“The Philippine Performance”,
The Filipino Athlete. Vol. XXV, Sep.-Oct. 1972,
“Judo”, The Sunday
Times Magazine, 27 Aug. 1972
Judo in the
Philippines, https://www.usadojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/FMA-Special-Edition_Judo-Philippines.pdf
Obituary, Mr. Geronimo
Ronnie Samonte Dyogi, Dignity Memorial,
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/stafford-tx/geronimo-dyogi-7023226
Asian Judo Championship
Results 1966-2011, https://web.archive.org/web/20131023103335/http://www2.bbweb-arena.com/cozytoys/media/asia_judo_champions_eng.htm
Geronimo Dyogi, olympedia, https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/33687
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