One of our greatest shooting sports legends was the marksman
MARTIN MAURICIO GISON. (b.14 March 1914) who had a long,
sterling shooting career that began in his college days at the
University of
the Philippines, to
5 Olympic stagings and 3
Asian Games editions.
Growing up in his home province in Iloilo, the
young Martin loved playing with his “tirador”, aiming and
slinging his shot at any target he could find-- a fruit hanging from a tree, an
empty can, or even pesky, stray animals. He earned a reputation as a sure shot,
foreshadowing his future as a world-class shooter.
As
a University of the Philippines R.O.T.C. cadet in the mid 1930s, Gison joined the U.P. Shooting
Team, and quickly built a reputation as an elite marksman in rifle and
pistol events. The team was often fielded in inter-ROTC Rifle competitions and
in events organized by the National Rifle and Pistol Association of the Philippines under Judge Delfin
Jaranilla.
In June 1935 alone, he won 2 titles, claiming the All-Around
Rifle Championship in the first week of the month, by scoring 466 out of
500. Three weeks later, on June 23, Gison added another outdoor championship
title in the .22 Pistol category (20 rounds at 25 yards slow-fire and 25
rounds 50 yards slow-fire), with a score of 458 out of 500, edging favorites Felix
Cortes and Capt. G. Lugtu.
These victories paved the way for Gison’s inclusion in
the 1936 Philippine Olympic Team that went to Berlin in August.
Against the world’s sharpest marksmen, he started strong in 5-way tie for 2nd
place in the Small-bore .22 Rimfire Rifle,
Prone event. After the countback that decided the winner, he dropped to 4th , edged for the Bronze by the Polish Wladislaw Karas, who had an identical score of 297. Still, it was the closest podium finish
ever by a Filipino shooter. However, Gison was not able to hold his form in the target pistol and
revolver events, where he was also entered.
His U.P. team mate, Otoniel
Gonzaga, failed to advance in his events. Nevertheless, the Olympics proved to be an enriching experience to the young sport shooter and his modest accomplishment, so close to winning a medal in Berlin, was reported in major newspapers back home.
At the 1937 U.P. Athletic Commencement and Physical
Education Day, the U.P. varsity athlete and Olympian received his major
letters for his rifle and pistol achievements, along with his certificate and
sweater, at the Rizal Tennis Stadium.
In 1938, Gison became the coach of the Colegio
de San Juan de Letran Shooting Team. He was also selected by the P.A.A.F affiliated National
Rifle and Pistol Association to be one of the country’s representatives to
an international shooting tilt in July 3, against Saigon sharpshooters from the
Federation Cochinchinois de Tir et Preparation Militaire.
Gison joined the USAFFE (Unites States Armed
Forces in the Far East) and was stationed in Camp Murphy (later Camp
Aguinaldo). One of his last tournaments before the war was the 1940
Philippine Army-Philippine Constabulary Meet at the Pureza ranges of
N.R.P.A. using .45 caliber service pistols or revolvers, which his team
won.
At the height of the war, Lt. Gison was among those captured in 1942 by
the Japanese imperial forces. He survived the infamous Bataan Death March,
and on 25 Dec. 1942, he, along with 238 former USAFFE servicemen, took
their oath of loyalty before the Director General to support the New
Philippines under the Japanese empire. When the country was liberated, Gison
started anew by going back to sport shooting.
In 1948, he qualified for the much-delayed Olympics
in London that were supposed to have been hosted by Japan in
1940. He came in 25th in the Free
Pistol, 50 m.; 40th in the Rapid-Fire Pistol, 25 m. , and
43rd in his pet event, the Small-Bore Rifle, Prone, 50
m.
Gison had mixed results at the 1952 Helsinki
Olympics, improving his standing to 32nd place in the Free
Pistol, 50m., but skidded down to 36th place in the Rapid-Fire
Pistol, 25 m.. He placed a creditable 13th in the Small-Bore
Rifle, Prone, 50 m.
The 1950s saw Gison at his peak, as in-between Olympics,
he participated in the Asian Games that were first instituted in India
in 1951. At the 2nd Asian Games in Manila held in 1954, he bagged a
complete set of medals of every color: Gold for the Rapid Fire Pistol, 25m.; a
pair of Silvers for the Free Rifle, 3 positions, 300 m., and the Free
Rifle, 3 positions, 50 m.. and Bronze for the Rapid-Fire Pistol,
25 m.
The Melbourne Olympics followed in 1956, where Gison
qualified in 2 events. He placed 13th in a new event, Free Rifle,
3 Positions, 300 m., and 22nd in the Rapid-Fire Pistol, 25 m.
Two years after, the 3rd Asian Games in Tokyo saw him
winning a Bronze in the Rifle, Prone, 50 m.
Defying age, Gison, at 50 years old, qualified for
his 5th Olympics at the 1964 Tokyo Games, along with 8
other Filipino marksmen. In his swan song, he finished in 48th place
in the Small-Bore, 3 Positions, 50 m.
Martin Mauricio Guison may not have medalled in
his shooting events but he holds an extraordinary record that has never been
matched—for making the most number of appearances at the Olympics—5
times—from 1936 to 1964, spanning 28 years. No other Filipino athlete has ever
come close to this feat, a lesson on achieving greatness, through perseverance,
endurance, and the will to win.
SOURCES:
The Tribune, various
issues: 5 June, 25 June, 5 Sep. (1935), 27 April, 11 Aug. (1936); 27
Feb.(1937); 19 July (1938); 20 Jul. (1940); 25 Dec. (1942).
Photo of M. Gison with
Letran Shooting Team, Colegio de Letran College Yearbook, 1938
Main Photo: Olympedia
Records, Martin Gison,
Wikipedia.com
