52. Long Jumper VISITACIÓN BADANA, 1ST Philippine Gold Medalist, 1958 Tokyo Asiad

The honor of winning the first Gold Medal for the Philippines in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan was the country’s top female jumper VISITACIÓN “Vessie” BADANA- RIBAGORDA, whose performance inspired the Philippine team to finish in 2^nd place overall, behind powerhouse Japan.

Born on 2 July 1937 to Pacifico and Ceferina Badana in the small barrio of Cogon Pardo, Cebu, Vessie was an athletic young girl who competed in inter-school meets in the province. She continued with these competitions in her teen years, where she got even better, prompting Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) to offer her an athletic scholarship.

At that time in the 50s, CIT trained- female athletes were considered the best in the country, like Asia’s sprint queen Inocencia Solis, Asian games sprint/hurdler medalist Francisca Sanopal, Manolita Cinco and javelin thrower Vivencia Sabido. Initially, Badana was doing sprints and low hurdles, but her CIT coach, Dean Vicente Tigas had other ideas when they noticed her explosive starts, and how long her vertical leaps were, when she ran. Thus,  the 5’3”, 106 lb. athlete was trained to do running Broad Jump (now called Long Jump), which she found to her liking.

Her first major athletic break was in 1954, when, at 17, Badana was named to the national team to compete in the Broad Jump event of the 3rd Asian Games in Manila. The top Filipina jumper then was the unstoppable Inocencia Celis, but the best in the region were the Japanese. Sure enough, Yoshie Takahashi secured the Gold (5.68m), followed by teammates Atsuko Nambu (5.64m), and Mikiko Tazaki (5.36m) for a dominant 1-2-3 finish. Solis set a new Philippine record of  5.18 m. (17 ft. 1 and 1/8 in.) but that was good only for fourth place. Badana and promising jumper Salome Banate finished at the tail end of the broad jump competition.

The calibre of competition spurred Badana to do even better in the next year, and sure enough, at the next Intercollegiate Athletic Championship, she placed first in the Broad Jump, breaching the 17 ft, mark with a leap of 17 ft., 1 inch., just 1/8” shy off the national record. That feat was included in the Best Philippine Track and Field Performance for the 1955-1956 Season.

In 1957, Badana made her appearance in 3 major meets. She started the year in Baguio when she joined 4th PRISAA Meet in February. Badana convincingly won the Broad Jump with amazing 17 ft. 4 ¾ ins. Her region, Central Visayas captured the overall championship crown that year.

Later in  March, at  the 1957 National Track & Field in May, she won the Running Broad Jump at 17 ft. 3/8 inch. To prove how versatile she was, Badana also reached the finals of the High Jump, where she placed 4^th with a leap of 4 ft. 9 inches. Her CIT teammate, Lolita Lagrosas won Gold with  her 4 feet 11 7/8 inch effort. But it was in that year’s National Intercollegiate/Intersecondary and Women’s Track & Field Championships where she made headlines. She established a new Philippine record of 17 ft. 8 7/8 ins (5.387 m), surpassing Solis’s record that she set in the 1954 Manila Asiad. Solis was a distant 2^nd at 16 ft. 4 inches.

Badana’s place in the Philippine Team to the 1958 Asian Games was assured. The Games opened on 24 May and were played until June 1, 1958. Badana set the tempo for the Philippines when she competed for the Long Jump. The defending champion from Japan, Yoshie Takahashi who had won the past Gold with a jump of 5.68 m. was conspicuously absent. Only her Bronze medalist, Mikiko Tazaki, was a repeat delegate from Japan.

Mustering her courage and channeling all her power and energy, Badana jumped her best, and according to Japanese press reports, the Filipina “executed an astounding best broad jump to win the first Gold Medal in Track and Field for the Philippines”.  In fact, Badana accomplished her Personal Best and a new Philippine record of 5.64 m. or 18 ft. 6.05  inches)  Silver went to Tazaki (5.49 m.), an improvement from her Bronze finish in 1954, and the Bronze to Taipei’s Huang Soon-sang (5.32 m). It was said that the Japanese Sports Press had been “truly charmed” by her “refreshing friendliness.”

The Philippine delegation  went agog over the first Gold Medal Badana claimed for the country—and it took a woman to accomplish the feat. Inspired by her win, the Athletic Team---which went gold-less in Manila—won 2 more Golds, 4 Silvers, 4 Bronzes. Of the 49 medals brought home, Athletics contributed 11, thus redeeming their sorry performance in the last games. The Tokyo Asiad has been the most fruitful for the Philippines in terms of the total number of medals garnered.

Badana’s next stop was no less than the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Thirty international female athletes vied for the 12 Long Jump finalist spots. In the trials, Badana was the 16^th athlete to take her 3 jumps---she leaped to 5.38 m. on her 1^st attempt, 5.59 m. on her 2^nd attempt, while her 3^rd jump was fouled. When all the scores had been tallied, Badana’s 5.59 m.  jump (her 2^nd personal best), put her in 24^th position among the 30 preliminary finishers. She failed to advance, thus ending her one and only Olympic journey.

In her later years, Visitacion Badana married Porferio P. Ribagorda, a fellow athlete of note, who was employed at the Cebu Institute of Technology-University. They had 5 children: Ruth (now Abarquez), Evelyn (Ybas), Brenda (Abarquez) Ann (Bohol) and Gilbert Ribagorda.  Vessie also worked there in the school as the University Registrar until her passing on 6 Dec. 1993, at the age of 56.

Badana’s 5.64 m. National Record would endure for over a decade as she paved the way for a new generation of women long jumpers to follow in the sport: Lydia Rosalada Silva-Netto  who broke her record with a leap of 5.70 m. ( reset to 5.71 m. in 1970 by her contemporary Lolita Lagrosas), Elma Muros-Posadas, and the spectacular  Marestella Torres-Sunang, the current record holder at 6.72 m. achieved at the Kazakhstan Open, Almaty, Kazakhstan on 4 July 2016.

SOURCES:

Special thanks to Ma'am Gwen Bohol, granddaughter of Visitacion Badana-Ribagorda, for furnishing additional information to this article.

Best Philippine Track & Field Performance 1955-56 Season, The Filipino Athlete, 1956

1957 National Track & Field Championship, National Intercollegiate-Intersecondary & Womn’s Track and Field Championships. The Filipino Athlete, May 1957 issue, p.7

Central Visayas Wins 4^th PRISAA Meet, The Filipino Athlete, June 1957 issue, p. 7

The 1958 National Intercollegiate Track & Field Championships, The Filipino Athlete, 1958

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1958_Asian_Games

Olympiad Long Jump Results: https://www.olympedia.org/results/60024

Asian Games Manila Philippines 1954, https://atfs.org/wp-content/uploads/Asian-Games-1954-Manila.pdf

51. Sprinter and Hurdler CONSTANTINO J. ALAMBRA: Far East Man of Speed

The 1930s decade spawned many sprinting stars, thanks to the athletic programs of the United States Army Philippine Division for their Filipino scouts and recruits.  Every year, the McKinley Games, consisting of track and field and swimming events, were held to test the sporting skills and strengths of both the U.S. and Filipino army men.

Many products of these games went on to become national athletes that competed in Olympics and major regional sporting competitions like medalists Miguel White (hurdler), Teofilo Yldefonso (swimmer), Nemesio de Guzman (track),  and Far East Games champ Miguel Sujeco (pole vaulter). Add to this list the name of CONSTANTINO J. ALAMBRA, who made a name for himself as both a hurdler, sprinter and relay specialist at the Far East Championship Games.

Very little is known about Alambra’s life before he became an athlete. Like many able-bodied young men out to find their place in the sun, Alambra applied, and was taken in by the U.S. Army Phil. Division, as member of the Philippine Scouts. It was in the McKinley Games that his running talent was discovered when he began winning various events from the quarter-mile run (400 m) to shorter sprints, and the hurdles. Alambra was considered a major rival of the celebrated hurdler/sprinter Miguel White, and they have crossed tracks many times.

In 1929, the Army fielded him in the Philippine National Athletic Meet where Alambra ruled the 400 meter run. He duplicated that feat in 1930, and established a National Record of 51.0 secs. With that feat, he also earned a ticket to the 1930 Far East Games held in Tokyo, Japan, where he was entered in 3 events.

Alambra bombed out of the 200 meter dash but captured two team Silvers for the 4 x 200 m. Relay (with German Candari, Anselmo Gonzaga, and David Nepomuceno) and the 4 x 400 m. Relay (with Candari, Gonzaga and Miguel White), all won by Japanese athletes who managed to keep the athletic championship title. That year’s Far East Games would be known for the sorry performances of the Filipino athletes who could only bag 2 Golds, won by Felizardo Casia (200 m. hurdles) and Simeon Toribio (high jump).

P.A.A.F. officials lost no time in revitalizing the sports program to ensure that this would not happen again. After all, the Philippines was poised to host the next Far East Games in 1934, followed by the the staging of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

The 1931 Philippine National Athletic Meet was once again held in February, with the best athletes from the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) , the Army, and the Bureau of Education. Defending champion Alambra was the heavy favorite to win the 400 m. race. One more win could earn him the chance to own the P.A.A.F.  Silver Cup permanently, as he had already won the same event twice in  the past 2 years. He breezed thru the trials and was supposed to run on the final day of the competition. Unfortunately, he developed cramps and pulled out of the Finals, allowing NCAA stand-out Silvino Cristobal to take the quarter-mile run.

Alambra took the loss in stride and focused on his training that included travelling to Iloilo and Negros Oriental in November 1933, along with fellow McKinley athletes to give exhibition and compete against the best athletes of the provinces. His efforts bore fruit as by the end of April 1934, the P.A.A.F announced that he had been shortlisted as one of the 71 athletes, to be quartered in De La Salle College as aspirants for the Philippine Olympic Team.

The candidates were divided into groups and assigned a Coach to oversee their over-all training. After their training, they will run in qualifying races against each other to determine the final members of the Philippine team. Coach Pedro Ablan was assigned to groups of athletes who were proficient in running all races that covered the 400 m distance: 400 m. flat race, 400 m. hurdles, 4 x 400 m. (1600) relay. Alambra was in this elite group that included names like Miguel White, Nemesio de Guzman, Jesus Roa, Serafin Estrada, and German Candari.

Alambra triumphed in the 400 meter hurdles, upsetting Miguel White who came in 2^nd, with Roa in 3^rd. In the 400 m. race, however, Candari smashed Alambra’s national record of 51 secs., lowering it down to 50.2 secs. In the 4 x 400 m. relay, Alambra teamed up with Candari, White and de Guzman to tie the record that they themselves set early in April. Their clocking of 3:20.0 mins broke the games record of 3:24.06 secs by the Japanese in the last Far East Games.

On 4 April 1934, the names of the members of the new Philippine athletic team to the 1934 Far East Games in Manila were announced—and Alambra was high up on the list. He has made it again to his second Oriental Olympics, this time, happening in his home turf of Manila.

Hopes and spirits were high as the 1934 Games opened in the heart of Manila. After days of intense competition, host nation  Philippines, again took second place overall in Athletics after Japan. This time though, Filipinos claimed the other seven titles and had a clean sweep in the 400 meters—in the 400 m. hurdles, Miguel White denied his arch-rival the Gold, and this time, Alambra had to settle for the Silver medal, but still ahead of Japan’s Masao Michihara, the Bronze medalist.

The 400 m. flat race saw the Filipinos winning the top 3 places with German Candari breaking the 50 sec. barrier with a 49.8 sec. clocking, followed by Nemesio de Guzman and Serafin Estrada. In the 4 x 400 m,, the Philippine team (Alambra, Candari, de Guzman, White) won the exciting match with 3:20.3 mins, just a hair’s breadth ahead from Japan which finished in 3:20.5 mins.Though the Philippines still placed 2^nd to Japan, our athletes’ performance was way better than the last edition.

 Alambra was touted as a possible Philippine Olympic team member for the 1936 Berlin Olympiad, but in the end, only 4 runners were sent to Germany: Miguel White, Nemesio de Guzman, Antonio Salcedo and Teodoro Malasig. It was in Berlin that White placed 3^rd in the 400 m. hurdles and won a rare Bronze for the Philippines.

With the end of the major athletic tournaments, Alambra buckled down to focus on his family. He took on a wife, Mariana Japson, an Ilocana. A son, Fermin, was born to them in 1939. In 1940, Alambra was appointed teacher of Leyte High School by the Director of Education, Celedonio Salvador. 

Things were going well until the War intervened. Lt. Constantino Alambra was called to active duty and died defending the country. His name, along with 51 other athlete heroes, is inscribed a bronze plaque that was unveiled on 17 July 1951, on the wall of the coliseum facade inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. It was put up during the term of president Jorge Vargas of the  Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation.

 SOURCES:

Friedlander, Alfred. “Results of the Philippine National Athletoc Competitions”, Graphic Magazine, 18 Feb. 1931, p. 22

“3 Swimmers, 1 Track Man Leaving for Visayas This Morning”, La Vanguardia,  27 Nov. 1933. P.9

“71 candidates are quartered aspirants for the P.O. Olympic Team at La Salle College”. Tribune, 24 Mar. 1934, p. 10

“Three Record were Improved in the Final Tests”, Tribune, 30 Apr. 1934, p. 10

Alinea Eddie, “For Flag and Country: In Sports and in War”, Business Mirror, 28 Aug. 2022.  https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/08/28/for-flag-and-country-in-sports-and-in-war/

Alinea, Eddie, “A Tribute to Sports War Heroes”, Philboxing.com. 13 June 2013. http://m.philboxing.com/news/story-84257.ht