The best and most successful Filipina hurdler of the 50s decade , was without a doubt, the Ilongga all-around athlete FRANCISCA SAÑOPAL. Born on 1 Jan, 1931 in the small barrio of Montinola, in San Joaquin town, Francisca, as a teen, was drawn to the different disciplines of Athletics, competing in throwing events, the sprints and relays, and the short hurdles.
These achievements would pave the way for her trailblazing international stints, competing in 2 editions of the Asian Games and the Olympics. She was a product of the Cebu Institute of Technology, that was renowned for its excellent women’s sports programs, producing a pool of runners, jumpers and throwers of world-class calibre, Some of its outstanding athletes include Asia’s fastest, Inocencia Solis, top broad jumper Visitacion Badana, and the young discus thrower, Josephine dela Viña.
She made her presence felt as a sprinter in the National Intercollegiate, Intersecondary, and Women’s Track & Field beginning in 1954, when she won the 100 meter dash. The next year, Sañopal took the limelight from national record holder Manolita Cinco of the University of Southern Philippines, when she broke her record by 0.2 seconds at the 1955 National Open Track & Field Meet. The two would become dominant names in women’s hurdles for the next few years—and also the fiercest rivals.
Francisca
Among the First Filipina Olympians
This led to her selection by the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation to the 1956 Philippine Olympic Team—a historic and unprecedented one as it marked the first time that Filipinas will compete in the world’s premiere and biggest sporting competition. Also chosen to go to Melbourne for the Summer Olympics were her worthy competitor, Manolita Cinco and two swimmers, Jocelyn von Giese, and 13 year old Gertrudes Lozada, who turned out to be the youngest athlete of the games.
Coached by Jose Ravello, Sañopal and Cinco were actually entered in the 100 m. dash and the 80 m. low hurdles, but it was decided that they had better chances at the hurdles so they did not go thru with the sprint heats. There were only 22 athletes from 11 country participants, with the Philippines as the lone Asian entry.
Hurdling for Honor, Among Others
It was at the 1957 National Intercollegiate, Intersecondary and Women’s Track and Field Championship that Sañopal would serve notice of her significant improvement and unparalleled athletic versatility. Held from 23-24 February 1957 at the Rizal Track-Football Stadium, Sañopal was entered by her school in 2 track races (the 80 m. hurdles, and the 100 m. dash) and 2 throwing events (javelin throw and the shot put). She reached all the finals of those events, garnering various degrees of success.
As expected, she ruled the 80. m. low hurdles, winning the Gold in 12.4 secs, followed by schoolmate, Lilia Heramis in 12.5. Manolita Cinco of USP settled for 3rd, also with 12.5 seconds.
In the century dash, Sañopal placed second to the seasoned Inocencia Solis, clocking in at 13.3 secs., just 0.1 behind Solis. Up and coming sprinter Rogelia Ferrer of Manila Central University was 3rd in 13.4 seconds.
She then moved to the field events, where she threw the Javelin to a distance of 112’ 7 3/8” to claim Gold, with Presentacion Juele of MCU a distant second with her 108’ 11 ¼” effort. Sañopal relegated the 1954 Asian Games bronze medalist Vivencia Sabido of CIT, who managed only 108’5”.
But she was not done yet—in her last event, she put the shot at a distance of 28’6” , good for 4th place behind USP’s Gloria Villanueva ( 33’ 6 1/8”), CIT’s Perla Pimentel
( 31’9”)
and the comebacking Vivencia Sabido (29’ 1/8”).
In 1957, the 2-day National Track & Field Championships were held in the first week of March. It proved to be the best season for Sañopal as she outclassed competition, capturing 3 Golds: first, for her pet event, the 80 m. hurdles, timing in at 12 secs. flat, pushing Cinco to 3rd. Her 2nd Gold was in the Javelin which she heaved at distance of 127 ft. 8 5/8 in., a full 9 inches farther than Corazon Barredo of the Bureau of Education.
Her 3rd and last Gold was the women’s 4 x100 m. relay, where she and teammates Lucrecia Casorla. Inocencia Solis, Visitacion Badana smashed the 50 sec. barrier, setting a new record of 49.6 secs. This was one of only 2 records set in the meet, so it was a very special win for the Cebu Tech amazons.
As a bonus, the sturdy Sañopal added a Bronze (13.3. secs.) to her medal harvest after placing 3rd to Inocencia Solis (12.4 secs.) and Rogelia Ferrer (12.9 secs.) in the 100 m. dash. For these extraordinary feats, Francisca Sañopal was singled out and acclaimed as the Most Outstanding Athlete of the National Open meet, and was honored with a trophy by P.A.A.F. meet officials.
Milestone Triumphs at the Asian Games
Though
exalted as the most exemplary athlete in the country for 1957, there was still that yearning for Sañopal
to see how far she could push herself, by testing her limits against the best
in the world. The Olympics had given her that glimpse, but she was still
so inexperienced then, she needed more exposure to more intensive competition.
In 1958, another opportunity opened, with the staging of the third Asian
Games in Tokyo, Japan.
At 27, Sañopal was at the peak of her strength and power. She was entered in her favorite event, the 80 m. hurdles—along with Manolita Cinco-- as well as the relay races. The Philippine women’s team made an auspicious start when Visitacion Badana won the Long Jump Gold in the first day of the athletic competition.
Seven finalists entered the stadium for the finals of the 80 meter low hurdles that fateful day to get into their positions At the sound of the gun, 2 Filipinas ran the best race of their lives as they left their starting blocks to clear the hurdles before them en route to honor and glory for their country.
The highly vaunted hefty Japanese Michiko Iwamoto and Francisca Sañopal ran stride-for-stride, clearing the hurdles with precision all the way to the finish, and both crossed the line with identical 11.6 secs. –a new Games Record. The judges however, awarded Iwamoto the Gold medal based on the photo finish. Sañopal got the Silver, though Cinco somehow eased the loss by scooping the Bronze with her 12.1 secs. run.
Sañopal’s final race was the 4 x100 m. women’s relay. Again, the strong Japanese team were figured to win. The strategy was to put the 2 fastest Filipinas—Inocencia Solis and Rogelia Ferrer---as the lead runners. Youngest member Irene Penuela will then take over and pass on the baton to Francisca Sañopal, known for her strong finishing kick. With the Japanese ahead, the Filipinas maintained their 2nd place position against the fast-catching Indians, with Sañopal as anchor. Japan won the Gold as expected, while the Filipinas secured the Silver with a new Philippine record of 49.0 secs, bettering their 3rd place finish in the last Asiad. The dethroned Indians came in 3rd place.
Francisca Sañopal would return to the Asian Games and run the same events a second time—but this time, with biggest difference. The event was the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the setting was the National Senayan Stadium where all athletic sports were contested.
In the 80 m hurdles, she had to run against the strong Japanese Olympian, Ikuko Yoda who won the race in 11.6 secs. Only split seconds later, Sañopal and another Japanese, Kiyoko Shimada, crossed the finish line with the same time of 12 secs. This time, Sañopal was awarded the Silver, for a rare back-to-back finish.
The best race of her career was saved for last—the 4 x100 m. relay. This event has been monopolized by the Japanese women for so long, but little did they know that the Philippine quartet had something in their sleeves. The 4 women included 2 tried and tested veterans—Solis and Sañopal—with 2 young, brilliant sprinters: Aida Molinos and the stellar Mona Sulaiman.
The women were strategically arranged from the one with the slowest time, to the fastest, hence: Molinos, Sañopal, Solis and Sulaiman. With excellent running and precise baton passes, the Filipina squad matched the Japanese with every stride resulting in an exciting photo-finish.
When the times were shown on the screen, the Philippines completed the race in 48.67 secs, a new national record, with the Japanese registering 48.74 secs.—just a mere .07 secs. away. The Filipinas had won the Gold! The Indons came in 3rr in 50.71 secs., a cause for celebration for the host country.
The victory was a fitting punctuation to Sañopal’s sensational athletic career. After a jubilant welcome for the returning heroes, the self-effacing 31 year old Sañopal faded quietly from the limelight. In 2014, when a rare gathering of former Olympians organized by the Philippine Olympians Association (POA) only her rival Manolita Cinco, was there to share her reminiscences of their glory days.No more was heard about Francisca Sañopal, not even her passing—the day she crossed over her last hurdle to the great beyond—and to immortality--as the most accomplished Filipina hurdler of her time.
SOURCES:
The Filipino Athlete (Official Publication of the P.A.A.F.), 1957
National Intercollegiate, Intersecondary and Women’s Track and Field
Championship, Apr. 1957, p. 8
The Filipino Athlete (Official Publication of the P.A.A.F.), 1957
National Track & Field Championships, May 1957, 3, p. 3-7
The Filipino Athlete (Official Publication of the P.A.A.F.), C.I.T.
Takes Women’s Title, June 1958, p. 8-13
Francisca Sañopal Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisca_Sanopal
Athletics at the 1958 Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1958_Asian_Games
Athletics at the 1962 Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1962_Asian_Games
Athletics Podium, https://athleticspodium.com/champs/asian-games/1958-asian-games
“Progress in Sports”, Progress, 1955
1956 Official Olympics Program, Melbourne, Australia
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