22. Hurdler-Hero: MIGUEL S. WHITE: Lone Philippine Medalist,1936 Berlin Olympics

The Olympic Games in Berlin unfolded in Germany from Aug. 1-16, 1936. “Hitler’s Olympics” was used by the Nazi leader as a stage to prove the supremacy of the Aryan race. But this quickly unraveled when sprint sensation Jesse Owens, won 4 gold medals in quick succession, and Cornelius Johnson and David Albritton achieved a 1-2 finish in the high jump—all black Americans. Add to this, the extraordinary Bronze achievement of a Filipino-black American MIGUEL S. WHITE in the 400 m. hurdles; modest it may seem, his win was a statement of defiance against racism, from a small country in the Far East.

Of his beginnings, little is known about the Philippines’ greatest hurdler, MIGUEL SOLANO WHITE (b. 9 Oct. 1909/d. 20 Aug. 1942). Born to a black American father and a mother from Legazpi, Albay, Miguel may have filial ties with the political Solanos of Camalig. He was also believed to have spent his growing up years in Sagmin town.

White’s earliest recorded participation in a major meet was at the 1930 Far East Games in Shanghai. He may have already been a Philippine Scout under the U.S. Army at this point, as the army is known for its excellent sports program that has produced many Filipino athletes of international calibre.  At age 23, White won a Bronze Medal in the 400 m. flat race.

White began specializing in the Hurdles event, doing both 110 m. and 400 m. hurdles. On 21 May 1932, the qualifying trials for a slot in the Philippine Olympic team were held, and he was one of those shortlisted to compete. But, of the only 8 spots available, only one was reserved for a track and field athlete, which went to high jumper Simeon Toribio. This did not deter White at all, continuing his  focus on training for the next best thing—the so-called Oriental Olympics—the 1934 Far East Games of Manila.

Under the tutelage of coach Pedro Ablan, he competed in the preliminary rounds held in early April 1934, against the country’s best hurdlers at that era: Constantino Alhambra, Eliseo Dumaliang, Filomeno Lagasca, Carlos Atud and Jesus Roa. White topped the heat and, along with Alhambra, made it to the Far East team.

In the 400 m. finals held in the second week of May, White proved his superiority by winning Gold, registering a blistering time of 53 seconds, outrunning his teammate Constantino Alhambra (Silver) and Masao Ichihara of Japan (Bronze). He extended his winning streak in a June 1935 dual athletic meet held at the Meiji Shrine in Japan when he won the 400 m. Hurdles, the only Filipino to win top honors in an individual event.

By the time the 1936 Philippine trials for the 1936 Olympics came around in April, White was at his peak. He came out as the fastest qualifier of the 400 m. Hurdles event, with a time of 53.8 seconds.

Miguel Solano White was one of 31-man contingent from the Philippines when the 1936 Berlin Olympics opened on 1 Aug. 1936 under the watchful eyes of Chancellor Adolph Hitler. Three days later, White was in the Olympic stadium for the heats of the 400 m. Hurdles. He heralded his presence when he topped his heat in a very fast 53.4 seconds, with American W. Schofield in 2nd. White advanced to the finals

In the finals, the next day—6 finalists reported to the field: two Americans, Glenn Hardin and Joseph Patterson, John Loaring (Canada), Sylvio de Magalhaes Padilha (Brazil), Christos Mantikas (Greece) and Miguel White (Philippines). At the sound of the starting gun, Patterson led the runners, with Hardin, Loaring and White in hot pursuit.

Hardin caught the fading Patterson in the stretch and won by 4 yards at 52.4 secs., with Loaring just a breath away at 52.7 secs., pipping White who came in 3^rd at 52.8 secs.—just .1 from a Silver medal. The unprecedented Bronze was just the 2^nd athletic medal for the Philippines, and the number still stands to this day.

White had another chance to win a medal the next day, August 6, as he was also entered in the shorter 110 m. Hurdles. Running in the last heat, White had a bad start and fell while negotiating the second to the last hurdle. He was painfully injured, and withdrew from the race. It really didn’t matter, as by then, White had made history, and was recognized as an outstanding Olympic performer—the only Filipino to bring home a medal for the Philippines.

White came home a hero, and when things settled, the self-effacing corporal resumed his military duties at Fort McKinley. Other than invitations to run in some tournaments in the country, White seemed to have hung up his running shoes after the 1936 Olympiad, as not much was heard about him until the outbreak of World War II in the Philippines.

It will be recalled that the Philippine Scouts played a crucial role in defending the country from the entry of the Japanese into the country. The young lieutenant was called to service to hold the fort during the first wave of the Japanese invasion of  the Philippines. White went missing in action, but was later ruled to have been killed in action on 20 Aug. 1942. Just like Teofilo Yldefonso, Miguel White was another one of our Olympians to become another tragic casualty of a war.  He was yet to turn 33. 

SOURCES:

Abdon M. Balde Jr. ,“AN ALBAYANO WON A MEDAL IN HITLER’S 1936 BERLIN OLYMPICS”.

David Wallechinsky, The Complete Book of the Olympics, “400-M. Hurdles”, Penguin Books, ©1988, p. 62

The Tribune Newspaper, various issues, 1932-1936: 30 May 1932 (Las Pruebas Olimpicas de Pista Mañana);  4 Apr. 1934 p.13: 16 June 1935, p.30 (“White Wins 400 M. Hurdles”); 21 Apr.1936, p. 7 (“Olympic Tryouts”; 4 Aug. 1936, p.1 “:White Placed 1^st in Heat”); 5 Aug. 1936, p. 6 (“Outstanding Olympic Performer”); 6 Aug. 1936,p. 6 (“White Painfully Injured”).

Graphic Magazine, 10 May 1934, 10th Far Eastern Games, pp. 28-36

Miguel S. White, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_White

 Official Program of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, vol. 1, LA Digital Collection

3. Making History: Sprinter DAVID NEPOMUCENO, The 1st Philippine Olympian

The honor of becoming the first Philippine athlete to participate in the World Olympics belongs to DAVID NEPOMUCENO, a trackster who was officially sent to the 8^th Olympiad in Paris, France, held from 4 May to 27 July, 1924.

Though still under American rule, the Philippines was allowed to join the International Olympic Committee in 1918, on the basis of its established Philippine Amateur Athletic  Federation (PAAF) which became the governing body of Philippine sports in 1911. It was only in 1924 though, that a Filipino athlete was sent to compete officially under our flag, making the Philippines the first country from Southeast Asia to join the world’s premiere sporting event.

David Nepomuceno was born in Oas, Albay on 29 June 1900. Not much is known about him before 1924, except that he comes from a quiet, unassuming family who valued hard work and simple living. He grew up in his humble town and obviously benefitted from the American physical education programs that were introduced in local public schools. The smalltown youngster proved proficient in both athletics and baseball which led to his participation in many interscholastic and regional meets.

As he came of age, Nepomuceno joined the U.S. Army’s Philippine Scouts based in Fort McKinley, Manila. His athletic prowess came into good use at the Philippine Department Athletic Tournament that was regularly held at Fort W. McKinley. Also known as McKinley Games, the large sporting event was participated in by members of the Philippine Scouts of the U.S. Army, various infantry units and air corps who competed in athletics, swimming, boxing and ball games.

Many of the top athletes from these games saw action at the PAAF Championships that were timed with the holding of the 1924 Manila Carnival at Wallace Field in February. That same year, the Olympic body opened slots for the Philippines in athletics at the scheduled Paris Olympiad. Barely 3 months after the carnival games, PAAF had to mount a series qualifying events in May 5, at Wallace Field.

The formidable sprinter from Leyte, Fortunato Catalon, was heavily favored to make it to Paris. After all, he was the Far Eastern Champion Games winner  for 4 consecutive editions (1917, 1919, 1921), winning Gold for both 100 yard and 220 yard races. But it was the younger Nepomuceno who pulled a major surprise, by running 100 yards in a sensational 9.54 seconds. Though Catalon matched his time for the same distance, he was overshadowed by Nepomuceno, as it was he was chosen to run the 100 m and 200 m. at the games, with Catalon as a “non-partant” (non-runner) in the sprint doubles, as listed on the official program, along with Juan Taduran in Decathlon.

Nepomuceno lost no time in preparing for his trip to French capital where the games were scheduled for 3 months, starting May and ending in July. In fact, he applied for a passport on May 14—7 days after the opening of the Olympics. Hi passport forms give us a glimpse of David’s personal details. The brown-complexioned Filipino listed his occupation as a soldier, standing 5 feet 3 inches tall, with an oval face and round chin. His mouth and forehead were of medium size. His hair was black, his eyes dark brown, with a turned-up nose (retrousse).

Three days later, he left on board passenger and cargo ship Sui Sang, along with PAAF official Dr. Regino Ylanan, who doubled as his coach, being a Far East Games veteran himself. After over a month of sea travel, the Philippine delegation of 3 people (the 3^rd was attache B. Minelle) arrived in time for the start of the athletic events. Nepomuceno barely had a month to get adjusted to the European weather, size up the competition and  train for the heats that were set on the first week of July.

Nepomuceno was grouped with 5 other runners in Heat 6, of 17 heats total. These include Antonin Svoboda  (Czechoslovakia), Henricus Adrianus “Harry” Broos (Holland), George Dustan (South Africa), Poul Schiang (Denmark), and José-María Larrabeiti (Spain). With his physical condition affected by the long trip, Nepomuceno had an unremarkable run, trailing all the runners, finishing sixth, and last.

The 100 meter dash finals was won by Harry Abrahams of Great Britain, whose victory was retold in the 1981 Oscar award-winning film, “Chariots of Fire”. Despite being branded as a true story, it has a few factual errors. For example, Abrahams did not look at the 100 meter race as a chance to redeem himself for his 200 meter loss, since the 100 m. preceded the 200 m. finals.

Our valiant Olympian fared better in the heats for the 200 meter-dash.  Lumped in Heat 15 with Maurice Degrelle (France) , Marinus van den Berge (Holland), Lawrence Betts (South Africa) and Henricus Cockuyt (Belgium), Nepomuceno placed third. Unfortunately, only the first 2 fastest could advance to the quarterfinals.

Still, Nepomuceno came home with head up high, as his Olympic experience only served to bolster his reputation as a major force to reckon with in Asian athletics. The next year, he proved just that in the 1925 Far Eastern Games in Manila, recording a personal best of 22.5 secs. in the 200 meter dash, defeating the strong Japanese contenders.

Then, in the 1927 staging of the Games in Shanghai, he won the Gold medal in the 100 meter dash, registering a record-breaking time of 10.6 secs., the first Filipino athlete to run the distance under 11 seconds, a clocking that stood for many years.

He continued to compete sporadically in the 1930s, and newspapers would still refer to him as “the 1^st Filipino in the Olympics”, “former Olympic ace”, and “brilliant Olympic veteran” years after his Paris odyssey. In 1934, David was still good to be shortlisted for training by American coaches for possible inclusion in the next Philippine Olympic Team. Few years later, he opted to retire early from the Philippine Scouts and retreat to his quiet, domestic life. He was afflicted with a lingering lung disease which led to his hospitalization at the Sternberg General Hospital beginning in May 1939.

He never recovered from his disease and passed away 4 months later at age 39 on 7 September 1937. David Nepomuceno will go down in the history of Philippine sports as a pioneer athlete who made history by raising the flag of the Philippines for the very first time on the world’s biggest sports stage, for other great Filipino athletes to follow.

Source: wikimedia, David Nepomuceno

SOURCES/REFERENCES:

David Nepomuceno phot, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/143942829?objectPage=320

The Far East Games, https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/fareastgames.html

“Two Filippinos did 100 Yards in 9.45 secs.”The Boston Globe, Mass. 5 May 1924 issue, p.13

“107 Athletes are on Tentative List”, Tribune (Philippines : 1932 - 1945), Saturday 17 February 1934, page 9

“Track Contest On Next Month, Entries Now Open at PAAF Office; Several Veteran Athletes Competing”, The Tribune, 9 Sep. 1933 issue, p. 7.

“Nepomuceno, Former Olympic Ace, Passes”, The Tribune, Thursday 28 Sept.  1939 issue, p. 11

Jojo de Jesus for Dateline Ibalon,”David Nepomuceno, Pioneer Filipino Olympian from Oas, Albay”,  3 Aug. 1924.

David Wallechinsky, The Complete Book of the Olympics, published by the Penguin Group, 1988.

Official Report of the 1924 Paris Olympic Games, LA84 Digital Library.