62. Hurdler Supreme of the 1950s: FRANCISCA SAÑOPAL

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.

 In the qualifying heat for the hurdles, Sañopal ran in Heat #4—the last heat that only had 5 participants. It was won by Australian Norma Claire Thrower (10.8 secs.), followed by the Russian Galina Bystrova (10.9 secs.), the French Marthe Lambert, (10.9 secs.), the German Maria Sander (11.1 secs). Sañopal was 5^th and last with a time of 11. 8 secs. Cinco fared no better, timing in at 12.1 secs. in placing 7^th and last in Heat#3. The Australian legend, Shirley Strickland won the 80 m. hurdle with a new Olympic record of 10.7 sec. trailed by Gisela Kohler of Germany (10.9 secs.) Thrower, who topped Sañopal’s heat, placed 3^rd in 11 secs. flat.

 Overall, Sañopal ranked 17^th from among the 22 athletes, while Cinco was second to the last. The Melbourne Olympics were a good experience for the 2 hurdlers, and upon returning home, the inspired Sañopal lost no time in training for the next important races schedules for 1957.

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 3^rd, 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 3^rd 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 4^th place behind USP’s  Gloria Villanueva ( 33’ 6 1/8”), CIT’s Perla Pimentel

( 31’9”) and the comebacking Vivencia Sabido (29’ 1/8”).

 Most Outstanding Athlete of 1957

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 3^rd. Her 2^nd 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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 2^nd 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 3^rr 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

61. CARLOS, THE KING RETIRED, by Jose Quirino, The Sunday Times Magazine, 1964

“Undoubtedly, the greatest cager the country ever produced.." 

by Jose Quirino, STM, 16 Aug. 1964, p. 30-32

Last April 15, CARLO MATUTE LOYZAGA, Asia’s exponent of the dash and dribble game, retired from the basketball scene after taking part in 12 international cag competitions since 1951. Just about everybody who knows something about basketball, including the superstar’s former detractors, said something about Philippine basketball not being the same again without the Great Difference.

Caloy’s retirement was the end of a long journey. The journey spanned 15 years of of spectacular performance on the mahogany court—here and abroad. In those 15 years King Caloy made 12 Philippine teams. He was the spark plug of the local quintet in all four Asian Games (1951, New Delhi; 1954, Manila; 1958, Tokyo; and 1962, Jakarta) where the Philippines maintained its supremacy as Asia’s cage champions.

 Loyzaga was one of the country’s mainstays in two Olympics (1952 in Helsinki; 1956 in Melbourne); two world championships (1954 in Rio de Janeiro; 1959 in Santiago, Chile) and two Asian Basketball Conference Championships (1960 in Manila; 1963 in Taipei).

 RP’s finest

In 1962, The Manila Times conducted a poll among basketball experts to chose the country’s greatest basketeer of all time. Four of the jurors—Lou Salvador, himself an outstanding cager of yesteryear (he holds the record of 116 points in one game), handily picked Loyzaga. Only one chose Jacinto Ciria Cruz, yesteryear’s “Jumping Jack”.

Says Tony Siddayao of the Times: “There is no basis for comparing Loyzaga with the greats of the past. Unlike baseball and several other sports, basketball has undergone revolutionary changes over the last 2 generations and individual merits can only be measured in relation to the period they belong.

 “Man for man, the Ciria Cruzes and the Borcks and the Martinezes might have been superior to Loyzaga in respect to the position they played. But then Loyzaga handled all 3 slots (center, forward, guard), probably not with same devilish ability but certainly with as remarkable effectiveness….when Loyzaga was named utility man of the Philippine team, he gave new meaning to the term, for his was the supreme honor of being able to be assigned to any position.”

 Augusto Villanueva, sports editor of The Daily Mirror, chimed in (upon earning of Caloy’s retirement): “Philippine basketball lost its toughest pillar last night with the retirement of Carlos Loyzaga, undoubtedly the greatest cager the country has ever produced.”

Loyzaga Day

Probably the greatest accolade ever rendered to a Philippine athlete occurred last July 7 when the Manila Industrial-Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) observed a “Carlos Loyzaga Day.” A special award was presented to the Great Difference on that day by Atty. Jose G. Syjuco, MICAA president, amidst impressive rites held at the Rizal Memorial Basketball Coliseum, scene of many a Loyzaga triumph.

“It was one of the greatest moments of my life when I received the award, “Caloy told us sheepishly during a recent interview. He cited four unforgettable moments in his life, namely:

1.     When he was hailed as a conquering hero of the RP cage Team from the 1954 World Cage Tournament from Brazil.

2.     The day he joined YCO basketball team in 1954, just after that year’s national open tournament and just before the Brazil cage war.

3.     The day he got married to Victoria Cuerva in 1957.

4.     The day his first child (Joaquin Loyzaga II, named after Caloy’s father) was born at the Lourdes Hospital on Aug. 28, 1958, just one day before Caloy’s 28^th birthday.

 Manileño

Caloy was born in Intramuros, Manila on Aug. 29, 1930, the third among 4 children of the late Joaquin Loyzaga, one of the best football players of the Bohemian Athletic Club, and the former Carmen Matute. Caloy’s father died in 1935 when Caloy was just five.

The other Loyzagas are: Nieves (now Mrs. Carlos Merlo), 39; Joaquin Jr. 37, now working as a chemist in Sydney, Australia; and Eduardo, 31, who is also in Sydney.“Late this year, I shall take my family to Sydney to visit the folks,” Caloy disclosed.

Loyzaga’s immediate family include his wife, Victoria, and their 3 children, Joaquin II, 5; Ernesto 2; and Carmen, 1.

 A colleague of the late Joaquin Loyzaga said, “Caloy inherited the aggressiveness and fighting spirit of his father.”

Caloy underwent early schooling at De La Salle grade school and his secondary education at San Beda College. One semester before he could finish his commerce degree at San Beda, he quit schooling to concentrate his talents on basketball.

 Start of a great career

Loyzaga’s long journey as a basketball superstar started in 1947 when he was a spindly-legged, 130 pound six-footer who was called “Mr. Toothpick” by his friends.

“You’ll never amount to anything on the basketball court,” said one cynic to Loyzaga when the former saw the latter’s maiden attempts to shoot the ball at the basket. But Loyzaga persisted in practicing on the mahogany. Besides, somebody had told him that one way of improving his frail physique was to play basketball.

 Today, despite injuries from countless cage competitions, Loyzaga would make an ideal model for Charles Atlas body-building poster. The six-foot-three Caloy weighs 200 pounds of solid flesh and muscle.

The first quintet which Caloy joined was the Tervalac team. Surprisingly enough, he led his team in the scoring parade. Mr. Toothpick was turning inot a valuable cage asset.

 Sobriquets

In the course of his basketball career, Loyzaga has earned several sobriquets including such terms as The Great Difference or The Big Difference (popularized by sportscaster Willie Hernandez), High Pockets,King Caloy, Stupendous Spire and El Leon.

 When he was new in the game, he earned the title of Promfet because according to his team mates, he then had a playing style similar to that of Promfet , one of the stars of the Canadian Red Roses, a terrific team that invaded the Philippines 15 years ago.

After leading the Tervalac team at the Intergovernmental Playground Championship in 1947, Caloy powered the same quintet to an unbelievable victory over the star-studded Black and White team which was then coached by Gabby Fajardo.

 Fajardo was so impressed by Loyzaga’s playing style that he persuaded Caloy to join the PRATRA Juniors to the MICAA title: the following year, he became a senior and was the sparkplug of the team that won the MICAA and the National Open crowns.

 25 Gold Medals

It was in 1951 when he became a member of the Philippine team for the first time and distinguished himself in the 1^st Asian Games in New Delhi. That same year, he led the San Beda Red Lions to the NCAA gonfalon. In fact, he led the Lions to four NCAA titles and one national title in 1952. All told, Caloy has earned 25 gold medals since his first participation in the Asian Games in 1951.

Says The Mirror’s Augusto Villanueva: “A strong rebounder, heavy court general, and a brilliant scorer, Loyzaga was the sparkplug of every team he played for the moment he graduated from the junior ranks in 1949.”

It was Loyzaga who powered th the YCO Redshirts in an unprecedented seven straight National Championships (1954-1960) and five MICAA cage crowns. Moreover, Loyzaga has won the title of Mr. Basketball for three times and Athlete of the Year one time.

In the 1954 World Cage Tournament in Brazil, where the Philippines placed third, Loyzaga was chosen one of the 10 best cagers in the world by sportswriters who covered the games. What’s more, he was the only Filipino who scored over 100 points (his total for the tournament, in fact was, 147).

What lies ahead

What lies ahead for this superstar? “I have no complaints,” he told us. “Life has been good to me. Despite my injuries, I feel fine—as long as I’m not playing on the hardcourt.”

Caloy lives with his family in a comfortable bungalow at Baesa, Quezon City.  “I used to raise lovebirds but I abandoned this hobby because the birds kept multiplying and I had to keep adding rooms to our house,” he laughed.

Caloy is now a successful underwriter with the Metropolitan Insurance Co., and a trouble shooter at Elizalde International. But more than the visible signs of prosperity which spell success for the former toothpick, and more than the many medals won in international competitions, Caloy Loyzaga has finally found himself.

The last time talked to Caloy, we noted that he had attained genuine humility, he only genuine yardstick for real greatness. Caloy Loyzaga’s long journey has, indeed, ended.

***********

 POSTSCRIPT:

 BASKETBALL COACH

After Carlos Loyzaga announced his retirement in 1964, he embarked on a coaching career (he had been a playing coach for YCO until 1964), mentoring the UST Glowing Goldies (1964-1966) in the UAAP and the Manila Bankers  in the MICAA. He was the coach of the Philippine Team which captured the 1967 Asian Basketball Conference Championship. In 1968, Loyzaga was the coach of the national team that saw action in the basketball events of the Mexico Olympics. In the Phil. Basketball Association Games, he handled the U/Tex (1975-76)  and Tanduay Distillery (1977-79) cage teams.

 PUBLIC SERVICE

Loyzaga also forayed into government service, an elected member of the Manila Municipal Board (3rd district) and was in office from 1967-75.

 HONORS & RECOGNITIONS

1999 Philippine National Basketball Hall of Fame

2000 Philippine Sportswriters Association Athletes of the 20th Century award

2016 Philippine Olympic Committee Presidential Olympism Award

2023 FIBA HALL OF FAME

On June 2, 2023, CARLOS “Caloy” LOYZAGA  became the first Filipino player to be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, an auxiliary lead-up to the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, co-hosetd by the Philippines.

SOURCES:

 “Progress in Local Sports”, PROGRESS Philippines, 1955 Edition

 Bocobo C., Celis, E. Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball, “Carlos Loyzaga”,pp. 93-95, by Christian Bocobo, 2004

 “King Carlos, Retired”, by Jose Quirino, The Sunday Times Magazine, 16 Aug. 1964, p. 29-33

 Carlos M. Loyzaga, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Loyzaga

 2023 Hall of Fame, Carlos Loyzaga, FIBA Website, https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/2023-hall-of-fame-class-carlos-%E2%80%98caloy%E2%80%99-loyzaga

 Other Photo Sources: PH Sports Bureau FB page, Philippine Passport Applications-Philippine Islands Vol. 17, PinoyMiler (Asian Games 1951 photo) , Rappler sports, Tiebreaker Times, screengrabs from Loyzaga FIBA Hall of Fame youtube video

 

49. Partner-Perfect: PATRICIA B. INGAYO, All-Around Tennis Ace (active mid 1950s-1971)

The versatile tennis player PATRICIA Bengson INGAYO (b. 14 Apr. 1937/d.11 Jul. 2013) possessed such depth of skills that allowed her to play and win medals in Singles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles and Team events. At the peak of her performance, she medalled consecutively in 3 Asian Games campaigns in all tennis events, and figured in the finals of several editions of the Philippines Open International Championships, founded in 1918 (later known as PHILTA International Championships).

Patricia Yngayo was born in Ermita, Manila,  the daughter of Lope Yngayo, and his wife, Salud G. Bengson who were married on 9 Jan 1935. Originally from Cebu, Yngayo went to the University of the Philippines and played school tennis. He became a national and Metropolitan tennis champion who played in the Davis Cup with Guillermo Aragon against Austria in May 1928. He later became a coach and trained the Philippine Davis Cup team. Lope Yngayo was certainly an influence for Patricia to take up the sports of tennis, and her early competitions revolved around tennis tournaments organized by community clubs.

1958 was the turning point of Yngayo’s tennis career when, in the finals of the Philippine International Open Tennis Championships, she barged into the Women’s Single’s event and placed second to the great Desideria Ampon—who would be, for the next years, her one and only greatest rival. In the next years --1959, 1960, 1966, 1969, 1971—Ampon would relegate Yngayo to a runner-up finish, except in 1970 where American Ceci Martinez beat her in the finals. Yngayo never won the top women’s singles title in this Manila-based tournament.

Yngayo and Ampon were named as the Philippine delegates to the women’s tennis competition at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan. She and Ampon made it to the Women’s Doubles---and bagged the Silver, won by Japan’s  Sachiko Kamo and Reiko Miyagi. In the Mixed Doubles, she and partner Miguel Dungo reached the finals and claimed the Silver medal. It was in the Doubles Events that Yngayo was most successful in the Asian Games, winning medals in succession in Tokyo, Jakarta and Bangkok through her perfect partnership with Desi Ampon.

In the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, Yngayo finally annexed an individual medal to her collection, winning Bronze in the Women’s Singles, shared with compatriot Desi Ampon, after 2 Japanese—Akiko Fukui and Reiko Miyagi—who won Gold and Silver, respectively.  The Yngayo-Ampon tandem were also triumphant in the Women’s Doubles and the Team Event, taking home the Bronze.

Her final 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand yielded 2 precious Silvers in the Women’s Doubles (with Desi Ampon) and Mixed Doubles (with Federico Deyro), and Bronze in the Women’s Team. In all, Yngayo—in tandem with Ampon, Dungo and Deyro—amassed 8 medals—4 Silvers and 3 Bronzes in the quadrennial games. Add to that her individual Bronze in the Women’s Singles—and that makes her the most productive Filipina tennis player in the Asian Games to date.

The bemedalled Patricia Yngayo may not have won an individual tennis title or an individual tennis gold in her lifetime, but as they say, victory is not just about coming home with Golds. It is also about coming back stronger, rebounding with resilience in the relentless pursuit of excellence. In her competitive years, Yngayo demonstrated all that, and more—proving her status as one of the few all-around women tennisters of the country. The accomplished tennis ace passed away at age 76, after a lingering illness.

SOURCES:

The Philippine Athlete, official publication of the P.A.A.F. October issue

Photo of Patricia Yngayo: Chino Trinidad + FB page

Lope Yngayo: https://mail.db4tennis.com/players/male/lope-yngayo

Asian Games Tennis medal winners Tokyo1958

 https://www.olympiandatabase.com/index.php?id=318659&L=1

Tennis at the 1962 Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_at_the_1962_Asian_Games

Philippines at the 1966 Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_at_the_1966_Asian_Games

Photos of Miguel Dungo, Federico Deyro: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LCXZ-18F/federico-deyro-1928-2006

45. Master of the Fly: FREDDIE ELIZALDE, PH Olympian, Asian Games Medalist (active 1956-60)

It was only in 1956 that the Butterfly stroke made its debut in the Olympics inaugural Men’s 200 m. butterfly, won by American William Yorzik. A rising teen swimmer from the American School in Manila decided to specialize in this difficult stroke, coached by the Olympian Rene Amabuyok, himself, a former national record holder of the fly.

Soon, FEDERICO “Freddie” ELIZALDE, was re-setting meet and national records in the said events, establishing himself as the country’s top fly swimmer by the time he was 18. He would achieve more when he pursued his collegiate studies at Harvard University, where he became a topnotch varsity swimmer under the tutelage of more experienced, international coaches.

After all, the young Freddie came from a privileged and influential background. The son of the business tycoon and Philippine patron of sports, Spanish-Filipino Manolo Elizalde and Mary Cadwallader, Freddie was born in Makati on 17 Aug. 1940. The Elizaldes were very much into sports—Manolo and his brothers Mike, Juan Miguel, and Ángel were avid polo players. Another brother, Federico,  was into shooting sports.

Freddie, however, took an interest in swimming. He was enrolled at the American School (the future International School) in Manila which had an excellent swimming program. The Indians Swimming Team, ably mentored by the 1948 Olympian  Rene Amabuyok, were perennial winners in inter-secondary level swim meets.

In 1956, Freddie gained major attention at the Secondary School Boys Swimming League held between Oct. 5-Dec.6. Fifteen teams from various schools like Mapua, FEU, Sulu Trade School, and National University were entered. The American School sent only  3 boys to the meet: Bobby Boni, R. Butler and 16 year old Freddie Elizalde.

 In the heats, Elizalde shattered the 2-week old league record of Robert Cullen in the 100 m. butterfly with his mark of 1:12.6 secs. This also erased Olympian Rene Amabuyok’s Philippine record established in 1952 at  1;14.8. In the championship round held on 29 Nov. 1956, Elizalde, pressed by Cullen of FEU, clipped 3.5 secs. off his prelims time, resetting the record to 1:09.1 secs. This feat was named as one of the Best Performances of the Year by the swim league.

At the next year’s 1957 National Secondary Boys Swimming Championship held from 21-23 Feb., Elizalde was untouchable in the 100 m. butterfly, winning the Gold in another record time of 1:08.8, a full 7 seconds ahead of Robert Cullen (FEU, 1:15.8) and T. Sahid (Sulu Trade School, 1:16.9).

There was no rest for Elizalde as 4 days later, the 1957 National Open Swimming Championship went underway from 27 Feb. to 3 Mar. The Open drew a strong team from Australia who dominated the meet. Elizalde however, held his own when he competed in the Butterfly Events.  In the 100 m. Butterfly, he placed second to Australian Brian Wilkenson (1:03. 5, a new All-Comers record), timing in at 1:09.2 mins., followed by FEU’s Agapito Lozada in 1:11.2 mins. He, once more placed second to Wilkenson (2:31.9 mins) in the 200 m. Butterfly finals, with a time of 2:41.1 mins, with Lozada in 3^rd, at 2:49.0 mins.

1958 proved to be Elizalde’s busiest year, with the holding of the Men’s and Women’s Manila Open Swimming League, from 15 Jan.-13 Feb. He stamped his class in the 200 m. Butterfly event by breaking Parsons Nabiula’s time of 2:42.0 mins. flat, which the veteran set on 16 Feb. 1956—reducing the time to 2:41.2 mins.—a new Philippine record.

Hot on the heels of the Manila Open was the 1958 National Inter-collegiate, Inter-Secondary Swimming Championships held from 27 Feb.– 1 March. American School captured the overall inter-secondary swim championship in dramatic fashion, edging out the Sulu Trade School in the last event of the meet—the 4 x 100 m. Relay. Elizalde, swimming with team mates Bobby Boni., M. Macias, and R. Domingo won the Gold, on top of the 1^st place finish of Elizalde’s in his pet 100 m. butterfly,  won in 1:06.6—a new Meet Record. American School amassed 20 points to emerge as the overall winner, while Sulu Trade School had 18 pts. and Far Eastern University with 12 points.

Hardly had their swimsuits dried when the 1958 National Swimming and Diving Championships opened from 6-9 March. The American School swimmers, led by Elizalde, were called upon again to compete. As expected, both 100 m. and 200 m. Butterfly events were handily won by Elizalde (1:06.5 mins. and 2:40.4 mins., respectively). Walter Brown, an up-and-coming star from U.P., provided the only real threat to the country’s master butterflyer, finishing in second in both fly events.

This served only as a prelude to the centerpiece spotting event of the year—the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, staged from 24 May- 1 June. The Philippine swimming team came in full force, coached by Jose Obial, the 1936 Olympian.  

Elizalde, without much surprise, qualified for the 100 m. Butterfly finals, along with team mate Walter Brown and a bunch of strong Japanese swimmers. In the end, however, it was Brown who snuck past Elizalde to win the Bronze Medal, in 1:06.9 mins. The Japanese scored a 1-2 finish with Takashi Ishimoto winning Gold (1:01.4 mins.) and Kumiagi Masunaga getting the Silver ( 1:02.0 mins.) Elizalde’s time of 1:07.4 mins, was good only for 4^th place.

It was a different story for Elizalde in the 200 m. Butterfly finals, where he stopped the Japanese juggernaut by finally clinching the Bronze  with a time of 2:47.7 mins., behind the formidable Takashi Ishimoto (Gold, 2:21.4 mins.), and Koichi Hirakida (Silver, 2:24.2 mins.). As icing on the cake, the Philippine 4 x 100 m. Medley Relay team consisting of Rudy Agustin, Jacinto Cayco, Dakula Arabani, and Freddie Elizalde, snatched the Silver in 4:37.7 mins., behind Team Japan ( Keiji Hase, Maseru Furukawa, Takashi Ishimoto, Manobu Koga) who clocked an impressive 4:17.2 mins. for the Gold. Indonesia took home the Bronze medal.

That same year, the newly-minted Asian Games double medalist announced his acceptance at the prestigious Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Three months after Tokyo, Freddie enplaned for the U.S. to begin his colleges studies. He easily made it as a varsity player of the Crimson Swim Team of the ivy league university, and the foreign student athlete quickly made quite an impression with his prowess in the pool.

His first major event was competing for Harvard in a dual meet with West Point held in December 1958. The freshmen Crimson team, of which Elizalde was a member, defeated the army men of West Point, 61-24. Elizalde was singled out for breaking the freshman record in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:23.9 mins---which also surpassed the winning varsity time.

Then on 11 March 1960, at the Eastern Colleges Swimming Championships in the Harvard pool, Elizalde’s superb performance was put on spotlight again. In the afternoon, the 19-year-old sophomore set a pool record in the 200-yard butterfly event, then tied the meet mark in the evening with a blistering time of 2:06.4 time. Yale's Tim Jecko set the mark in 1958. Elizalde beat Jerome Bentley of Dartmouth (2^nd place) and Colgate’s Michael Wolk  and Yale’s Thomas Bissell who tied for 3^rd place.

By this time, the Games of the 17^th Olympiad were all set for staging in Rome  beginning on 25 August 1960. Elizalde was called upon to represent the Philippines in the world’s premiere sporting event. He immediately flew home to train with the rest of the Philippine Men’s Swimming team:  Lorenzo Cortez, Antonio Saloso and Bana Sailani.

As luck would have it, Elizalde suffered a fractured hand before the Rome Olympics which almost kept him off the Philippine squad. It was decided that he would swim only in one individual and one team event so as not to add strain his healing hand. In the 100 m. freestyle, he finished 46 out of 51 swimmers with a slow time of 1:03.0 mins. He and his team mates did not much better in the 4x100 Medley Relay although he swam the butterfly leg faster than his 100 m. freestyle race, landing 15^th among 18 teams, with a time of 4:28.0 mins.

Many believed that Elizalde could have earned a finalist spot in the 200 m. butterfly race because he was already clocking in at 2 mins, 20 secs. in his pre-Olympic swims. Replacing him were a pair of Muslim teeners, Ahiron Radjae, 17 years old  (clocked 2:39.80 mins, ranked 31^st of 34) and 18 year old Amir Hussin Hamsain (clocked 2:27.9 mins, ranked 22^nd of 34).

 It was back to school for Freddie Elizalde after his one and only Olympics. In 2 more years, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University with a degree of Bachelor of Arts Major in Social Relations.

He returned to the Philippines to help manage the giant Elizalde conglomerate of companies. He serves as the chairman of multiple corporations -- among them Manila Broadcasting Company, Star Parks Corporation, Philippine International Corporation (Philcite), Elizalde Holdings Corporation and Northern Capiz Agro-Industrial Development Corporation (Norcaic). He never left his love for swimming, supporting the sports by making special appearances in local swim meets, awarding winners, and meeting young swimmers.

In 1978, Elizalde entered politics by running as delegate to the 1978 elections for one of the 166 regional seats in the Interim Batasang Pambansa, under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. The interim national assembly was the legislature of the Philippines formed by Pres. Marcos, from its inauguration in 12 June to 5 June 1984. It served as a transitional legislative body as the country shifted from presidential to a semi-presidential form of government. First Lady and Humans Settlements Minister Imelda Marcos headed the party, which swept most of the seats.

Elizalde was married to Josine Pardo de Tavera Loinaz (b.1945/d. 2022), beauty queen and philantrophist, with whom he had 4 sons. His second wife was another beauty queen, Joan Gatlin Salas of Batangas, who passed away in May 1996, leaving Elizalde a widower with children Juan Manuel and Thalassa. On 7 June 1997, Elizalde married well-known ballet dancer, Lisa Macuja, and their union bore 2 children: Michelle Elizabeth and Manuel Cesar. The Elizaldes are celebrating their 28^th wedding anniversary this year, 2025.

Of his children, it is son Federico Jr., 54, who has taken over his father’s mantle as a butterfly specialist  of note,  the same stroke that catapulted the senior Elizalde to swimming glory. Though Federico learned swimming early, he abandoned the sport at age 12, only returning to train at age 51. He has swum long distances in open water, using solely the butterfly style. Since becoming the first person to swim the 9 km. distance from Caticlan in Panay to Puka Shell Beach in Boracay, he has completed more endurance races employing the fly stroke. On 15 July 2023, Federico became the 1^st ever swimmer to stroke his way from Lausanne, Switzerland to Evain, France by crossing Lake Geneva-- a distance of 13 kms—in 6 hours, 44 minutes. The event was sanctioned by Lake Geneva Swimming Association LGSA.

SOURCES:

The Filipino Athlete, various issues;

Dec. 1956, J. Obial, “Mapua Tech Swimmers Win Secondary School Boys Swim League, p.12-15.

June 1957, E.A. Perez de Tagle, “UST Regains Nat’l Title; FEU Takes Women Division Championship, p.12-15.

April 1958, “UST; FEU: American School Top Intercollegiate, Inter-Secondary Swim Meets”. P. 3-6.

Progress 1959 Magazine, Special Report

youtube, The Butterflier Effect. Federico Elizalde Makes a Record with a 3-Way Maricaban Strait Swim in Butterfly

Federico Elizalde Jr. https://www.geni.com/people/Federico-Elizalde/6000000016471151836

“Crimson Swim Team Crushes Army, 55-31 As Sophomores Star”, The Harvard Crimson,December 15, 1958, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1958/12/15/crimson-swim-team-crushes-army-55-31/

 “Harvard's Relay Team Lowers Eastern Free-Style Mark Twice; Brown of Dartmouth, Chase of Yale and Crimson's Elizalde and Gorman Also Excel”, The New York Times, 12 March 1960, p. 16, https://www.nytimes.com/1960/03/12/archives/harvards-relay-team-lowers-eastern-freestyle-mark-twice-brown-of.html

Agustin, Carl Martin. “Meet Federico Elizalde, the 53-year-old swimmer that’s setting records through butterfly strokes”, Lifestyle.INQ. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/474200/meet-federico-elizalde-the-53-year-old-open-water-long-distance-swimmer-thats-setting-records-through-butterfly-stroke/

Enriquez, Marge. “The ‘miracle child’–one of the country’s richest heiresses—finds her life partner’”. Lifesyle.INQ. 20 May 2012. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/48783/the-miracle-child%E2%80%93one-of-the-countrys-richest-heiresses%E2%80%94finds-her-life-partner/

27. Her Race is Run: IRENE PENUELA, Relay Specialist, Silver Medalist, 1958 Tokyo Asiad

Nearly forgotten, the name IRENE PENUELA came to fore when her daughter, Lyn Majaducon sounded a call for financial help for her mother who was battling ovarian cancer. It turns out Irene Penuela was a former national athlete, who, at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, chased sporting glory—and won the Team Silver Medal in the 4 x 100 M. Women’s Relay.Together with her team mates, top sprinter Inocencia Solis, Rogelia Ferrer and Francisca Sanopal, the Philippine team placed 2^nd to the hometown Japanese quartet, a no mean feat in the region’s biggest, and most highly-competitive sporting event.

As is the case with veteran athletes past their prime, Penuela’s story is the same: after bringing pride to the country, they are left in oblivion, neglected and forgotten. Professional athletes in massively popular sports, like basketball and boxing,  have better chances of parlaying their fame to something more lucrative. On the other hand, amateur athletes from less-funded sports like sprinter Penuela, sadly have little or no support.

Which is why, when Penuela’s Asian Games achievement came to people’s attention via that appeal that came with a photo of her running in that historic relay, the memory of that long-ago victory rallied grateful sports groups and personalities to help the now-old and bedridden athlete.

Irene Penuela was born on 6 April 1938, to parents Jesus Penuela and Alicia Esporton originally from Jaro, Iloilo. Small, slim and standing at only 5'2", the young Irene took to running in her elementary school years where she often represented her school in meets. It was in her high school years at Dumangas High School (formerly Iloilo High School), that Penuela took running seriously. Her teachers knew they had a talent in their hands so she was always fielded in regional events, winning sprints at the West Visayas Athletic Association (WVAA)  Meets.

Penuela qualified as a member of the WVAA team that went to the premiere Bureau of Public Schools Interscholastic Athletic Association (BPSIAA) Meet,  a predecessor of today’s Palarong Pambansa organized back in 1948. It was held in Tagbilaran, Bohol, from Feb. 1 to Mar. 1, 1958. The scrawny teen served notice of her presence when she reached the finals of all her events:  3^rd in the 100 m. dash behind the East Visayan Concordia Avenosa, 4^th in both the 200 m. dash and 1^st in the 4 x 100 m. relay, turning the tables on their East Visayan opponents.

Penuela’s podium wins opened wide the doors of the 1958 National Open Track and Field Championships held just a week later, a prelude to the 1958 Tokyo Asiad. Now representing the Bureau of Public Schools (BPS), Penuela was entered in the 200 m. dash. 

Among the finalists was the national record holder Inocencia Solis, 6 years her senior, and Negros Occidental hurdler/sprinter Rogelia Ferrer, a ’54 Asian Games medalist. Unfazed, Penuela took her place in the cinder tracks and bolted from the blocks at the sound of the gun. When Penuela crossed the finish line, she was shocked to learn that she had placed third behind Solis and Ferrer, with a remarkable time of 26.6 secs., just 0.1 sec. from Ferrer, and 0.2 sec. from Solis.

When the composition of the 4 x 100 m. relay women’s team for the 1958 Tokyo Asiad was announced, Penuela was even more aghast when she saw her name included along with Inocencia Solis, Rogelia Ferrer, and Francisca Sanopal. Sports pundits were expecting either Visitacion Badana or Lucrecia Casorla to complete the quartet as they had been in the 4 x 100 relay team with Solis and Sanopal that smashed the 50 sec. barrier in the 1957 National Open with a new Philippine record time of 49.6 seconds.

But starting 1957, Visitacion Badana was peaking as the country’s best women jumper, the only one to break a national record in that years’ National Intercollegiate Track and Field Championship. Officials may have decided to keep her for the event where she excels best (Indeed, she would score the 1^st gold in the Running Broad Jump at the Tokyo Asiad). In the case of Casorla, she was more of a hurdler, but Sanopal and Manolita Cinco were already the dominant performers in that field.

Thus, all thing considered, officials put their bets on Penuela. It’s true that she never placed first in her events, but her runner-up clockings were just a few ticks away from the winners’ times. Who knows, the idea of running in an international event could even fire this promising athlete to go beyond her limits and win! On the 3^rd week of May, Irene Penuela arrived in Tokyo, Japan to run the biggest race of her life at the Third Asian Games.

In the finals of the 4 x 100 m. relay held at the National Stadium on 29 May, 11:30 a.m, the Indian runners returned to defend their title won in Manila 4 years before. The Japanese squad, however, were the crowd favorite to win the race. The Philippine girls were not ruled out either, as Solis had claimed the Gold in the century dash earlier, installing herself as Asia’s fastest woman.

The plan was for barely-rested Solis to be the lead-off runner, and followed by the Rogelia Ferrer. Penuela, the team’s youngest runner was sandwiched between the more experienced Ferrer and Francisca Sanopal, the hurdler-sprinter known for her strong finishing kick. Running second, Ferrer passed the baton to Penuela who ran the 3^rd leg against the formidable Ikuko Yoda, a future 1964 Olympian hurdler. She held her own as well against the fast-catching Indians, remaining  in 2^nd place as she handed the baton to Sanopal.

The Japanese sprinters (Sakura Fukuyama, Yoshie Fujii, Ikuko Yoda, Yuko Kobayashi) retained their slim lead until the finish to win Gold (48.6 secs. a new Games record), with the fighting Filipinas bagging Silver (49.0 secs. flat, a new PH record, Solis, Ferrer, Penuela, Sanopal), thus bettering their 3^rd place position in the last Manila Asiad. The dethroned Indians ( Christine Brown, Violet Peters, Stephie D'Souza,Mary Leela Rao) were pushed into 3^rd place (49.4 secs.).

To Penuela, the Silver around her neck as she stood on the podium, glittered like Gold—for the 4 x100 m. relay was her one and only event, in her first and only international outing; it was, the biggest win of her running career. In Athletics, the Philippine team hauled 11 medals, 3 of which were Gold, 4 Silvers and 4 Bronzes. Of the 3 Golds, two were won by women athletes. The total medal harvest in Athletics put the Philippines in 3rd place behind Japan and Pakistan.

Japan was a good experience for her, for the new culture she was introduced to, for the sportsmanships fostered, and international friendships she forged with athletes from around Asia. 

Penuela returned to the Philippines to resume her life as a student athlete. She finished her Physical Education course at the Central Philippine University, in Iloilo. She continued her medal-winning ways collecting 11 Gold, 9 Silvers, and 9 Bronzes in post-Asiad meets in the Philippines. Her athletic career lasted only for 9 years, a short but fruitful one.

After 1958, she was married in civil ceremonies to Franquilino Majaducon of Jaro. By 1960, the growing Majaducon family would move to General Santos City, in brgy. Apopong, where she would remain for the rest of her life. They would have 6 children:  Erlien (a special child), Franklin, Gilbert, Elleen, Aileen and Arlien.  The 2 youngest daughters also became outstanding athletes in athletics and swimming.

As a new wave of stronger, faster runners emerged led by the Mona Sulaiman, Penuela went into coaching, mentoring pools of athletes for various national competitions and championships. She made history again in 2005 when she became the oldest female marathon finisher of that year’s Milo Marathon, at the age of 67.

In 2022, Penuela was stricken with ovarian cancer, and her grateful adoptive city of Gensan, accorded her not only financial assistance but also recognized her significant achievements that elevated Philippine sports and gave pride and honor to her country.

Two years after, she took a turn for the worse, which prompted her daughter Lyn to make an appeal for help in settling her medical bills. The response from the sports community was overwhelming, but, sadly it came a bit late for the ailing Irene. On 9 July 2024, Irene Penuela died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones. There is no greater glory than running her final race, a journey to immortality.  

SOURCES:

1958 3^RD Asian Games, Tokyo, Japan Official Report

Athletics at the 1958 Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1958_Asian_Games

 1958 Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Asian_Games

 The Filipino Athlete, Official publication of the Phil. Amateur Athletic Federation (P.A.A.F) 1957-1958 issues.

 “PH Asiad medalist passes away, family asks for burial assistance”, by Randy Caluag, The Manila Standard, 9 July 2024.

 “Former Asian Games Silver Medalist’s Daughter in dire need of financial aid for mother’s burial and funeral service “, posted on Reboot TV Official  FB Page, 12 July 2024.

 Telephone interview with Lyn P. Majaducon, daughter of Irene Penuela, 29 Apr. 2025.