Lt. Teofilo Yldefonso, the Pride of Piddig, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, stands out in Philippine sports history as the first Filipino Olympic medalist and the only Filipino to repeat the feat. In fact, he is the only back-to-back Filipino Olympic medalist. He accomplished the rare feat at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics and at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, both in the 200-meter breaststroke.
The Philippines first participated in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics in the Netherlands, Yldefonso was only 25 when his 2:56.4 clocking wound up third best behind Yoshiyuki Tsuruta of Japan (2:48.8) and Erich Rademacher of Germany (2:50.6) in the 200-meter-breastsroke.
In 1932, at the Los Angeles Olympics, Yldefonso lowered his mark to 2:47.1 in the finals of the 200-meter breaststroke. But he still wound up third behind Tsuruta (2:45.4) and Reizo Koike (2:46.6), another Japanese.
The Philippines has participated in 16 Olympics since 1924. So far, the country has collected only 9 medals: 2 silver and 7 bronze. Yldefonso is the only repeat winner. The silver medalists are featherweight boxer Anthony Villanueva at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and light flyweight boxer Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Anthony Villanueva's father Jose, a bantamweight boxer, also won bronze at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Onyok Velasco's older brother Roel, also a light flyweight, bagged bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Yldefonso, the "Ilocano Shark," was born in Sitio Bayog, Bgy. 4, Bimmanga, Piddig, Ilocos Norte on November 4, 1903. Old folks remember that Yldefonso was just a small kid when he started swimming at the once-deep Guisit River in Piddig. It was in the town of Piddig that the young Yldefonso honed his swimming skills early on.
He was in his early 20s when he enlisted with the 57th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Scouts. As a young soldier, he gained prominence as a competitive swimmer. Records show that during his brilliant swimming career, he has amassed 144 medals.
When World War II broke out in 1941, Lt. Teofilo Yldefonso joined the Filipino soldiers who gallantly fought against the Japanese invaders. When Bataan fell to the Japanese in 1942, he was among the thousands of Filipino and American soldiers who experienced the hardships and travails of the infamous Death March from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac.
He died at the Capas Concentration Camp on June 19, 1943 at the tender age of 40. His remains were nowhere to be found. But his legacy as a champion breaststroke swimmer and a war hero will live on forever.
The monument of Lt. Teofilo Yldefonso was unveiled at the Piddig Municipal Plaza last February 14, 2006.
The Philippines first participated in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics in the Netherlands, Yldefonso was only 25 when his 2:56.4 clocking wound up third best behind Yoshiyuki Tsuruta of Japan (2:48.8) and Erich Rademacher of Germany (2:50.6) in the 200-meter-breastsroke.
In 1932, at the Los Angeles Olympics, Yldefonso lowered his mark to 2:47.1 in the finals of the 200-meter breaststroke. But he still wound up third behind Tsuruta (2:45.4) and Reizo Koike (2:46.6), another Japanese.
The Philippines has participated in 16 Olympics since 1924. So far, the country has collected only 9 medals: 2 silver and 7 bronze. Yldefonso is the only repeat winner. The silver medalists are featherweight boxer Anthony Villanueva at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and light flyweight boxer Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Anthony Villanueva's father Jose, a bantamweight boxer, also won bronze at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Onyok Velasco's older brother Roel, also a light flyweight, bagged bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Yldefonso, the "Ilocano Shark," was born in Sitio Bayog, Bgy. 4, Bimmanga, Piddig, Ilocos Norte on November 4, 1903. Old folks remember that Yldefonso was just a small kid when he started swimming at the once-deep Guisit River in Piddig. It was in the town of Piddig that the young Yldefonso honed his swimming skills early on.
He was in his early 20s when he enlisted with the 57th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Scouts. As a young soldier, he gained prominence as a competitive swimmer. Records show that during his brilliant swimming career, he has amassed 144 medals.
When World War II broke out in 1941, Lt. Teofilo Yldefonso joined the Filipino soldiers who gallantly fought against the Japanese invaders. When Bataan fell to the Japanese in 1942, he was among the thousands of Filipino and American soldiers who experienced the hardships and travails of the infamous Death March from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac.
He died at the Capas Concentration Camp on June 19, 1943 at the tender age of 40. His remains were nowhere to be found. But his legacy as a champion breaststroke swimmer and a war hero will live on forever.
The monument of Lt. Teofilo Yldefonso was unveiled at the Piddig Municipal Plaza last February 14, 2006.
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