THAT’S ALL koyum

By Al S. Mendoza

THE following is from Caroline Howard, who was a news and features producer and news anchor for almost 20 years at ABS-CBN’s ANC.  She calls herself now as a “freelance writer-editor taking care of my 80-year-old Mom.” 

Bearers of the Philippines’ Olympic History

By Caroline Howard

IT was a century-and-two years ago in May 1924, when the Philippines had its very first foray in the Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Long before Filipino athletes Hidilyn Diaz and Carlos Yulo put the Philippines on the world sporting map in recent years, the Philippines sent a two-man delegation to the 1924 Paris Olympics.

The country’s official flag bearers then were Dr. Renato Ylanan, bemedalled track-and-field athlete and coach of the Philippine delegation, and David Nepomuceno, the first Filipino to qualify for the Paris Olympics after clocking a record 9.45 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

The formidable pair would pave the way for future Filipino athletes who dreamed of competing internationally and capturing an Olympic gold.

Dr. Ylanan and Nepomuceno’s noteworthy participation in the 1924 Paris Olympics is a compelling story that Archivo 1984 puts itself to task with its latest publication— The First Filipino Olympians: the Untold Story of Dr. Renato Ylanan and David Nepomuceno.

Writers Lorenzo Manguiat, Isidra Reyes and Gerard Lico did a commendable job in telling the story of the Philippines’ first sporting heroes and their milestone achievements, the country’s Olympic participation in 1924, through the seasons, and how it has come full circle a century later.

Due attention is given to other stellar athletes who raised the bar for the Philippines after them, and the development and promotion of amateur sports and physical education in the country.

Manila’s prominent sporting venues that served as training ground for the country’s athletes also have a special place in the book. Vintage photographs add dimension to the story of the Philippines’ pre-war and post-war sports journey in every chapter.

Interesting facts in the book include Dr. Ylanan meeting Canadian-American physical education instructor, Dr. James Naismith, who invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts, home of Ylanan’s alma mater, the YMCA in Springfield [now Springfield College].

One entry on the school’s educational philosophy in its information booklet raised a relevant food for thought about how sports —as in humanities—makes a country: “the importance of educating individuals in mind, body, and spirit to cultivate leadership abilities gendered towards serving others.”

It makes one wonder how far ahead the country would be today, if only we could shape its politics the same way.

The book, intended to commemorate the country’s hundredth year taking part in the international games and to celebrate the Philippines’ historic participation in 1924, was not without its share of challenges.

The biggest hurdle was finding enough information about Nepomuceno and other athletes like Juan Taduran and Fortunato Catalon, who were also, and quite literally, in the running for sporting greatness.

Manguiat says: “There wasn’t enough printed or online material about their backgrounds. The copy of the May 1 to 16, 1936 issues of The Filipino Athlete, which was the official publication of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Association [PAAF], was missing from the University of the Philippines Library.”

The publisher managed to get copies of the 1924 Olympics program and the film on the 1924 Olympic Games, but there was a dearth of available material about the Philippines’ participation that year from the Philippine Olympic Committee [POC} and the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association [PATAFA} that the production team turned to online sources, including the online edition of the New York Times and its archive section, among others. 

From having a singleness of vision to mark a national sporting milestone, the breakthrough for the book project came when the team connected with Dr. Ylanan’s grandchildren who graciously shared voluminous memorabilia that the family members had lovingly kept— from old scrapbooks and article clippings, to handwritten letters and unpublished memoirs by their grandmother Carmen—and personal recollections of the Ylanan couple. 

Part biographical account, part tribute to the country’s first sporting heroes, The First Filipino Olympians: the Untold Story of Dr. Renato Ylanan and David Nepomuceno is a historic sporting legacy and inspiring journey that Archivo 1984 commits to the national memory.

A feat in itself, for both the publication’s effort and ambition, it is a timely reminder of the Filipino’s earliest quest for Olympic success and national pride, and an invitation to discover— or rediscover— who was at the starting line and what it took to get us there.

***Not yet in bookstores, the book is available on Archivo1984.com

THAT’S IT: Barangay Ginebra and TNT will be evenly matched as they begin their Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven title series at the Araneta Coliseum. But in the National Basketball Association 2026 Finals, New York, because it is well-rested following a longish vacation due to its 4-0 sweeps of its Eastern Conference rivals, is favored to win Game 1 on Thursday over the fatigued San Antonio, which is still reeling from its lung-tearing seven-game victory over Oklahoma City on Sunday…Happy birthday to Coach Dayong of San Miguel Beer! Cheers!