All eyes are on the 2024 Paris Olympics as athletes from around the world aim for gold and glory!
This year is especially significant for the Philippines, as it marks 100 years of participation in the world’s biggest multi-sport event, sending 22 Filipino athletes eager to make their mark and create another history for the country.
But did you know that since joining the Olympic Games, the Philippines has already won 14 medals, including its first-ever gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?
Here are the Filipino athletes who have bagged Olympic medals:
Teofilo Yldefonso
The Philippines had its first Olympic medalist back in 1928.
Swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso bagged not just one, but two bronze medals in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke category.
Yldefonso won the country’s first Olympic medal in 1928 in Amsterdam and another bronze medal in the same category in 1932 in Los Angeles.
Simeon Toribio
Simeon Toribio represented the country along with Yldefonso at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
The Boholano athlete brought home a bronze medal in that same year after placing third in the men’s high jump category.
Jose Villanueva and Anthony Villanueva
Another contender from the 1932 Olympics was Jose “Cely” Villanueva who earned a bronze medal in the men’s bantamweight category.
Villanueva was known for coaching some of the country’s established boxers, including Gabriel “Flash” Elorde and his son, Anthony Villanueva who eventually followed the legacy of his bronze-medalist father.
The younger Villanueva even surpassed it with a silver medal after defeating Russian boxer Stanislav Stepashkin in the men’s featherweight class during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Miguel White
Another bronze gold was brought home by Miguel White, who represented the Philippines in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, in 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.
Leopoldo Serantes
In 1988 Seoul Olympics, boxer Leopoldo Serantes claimed the bronze medal for the Philippines after winning third place in the men’s light flyweight division.
Serantes’ win ended the country’s 24-year medal drought in the Olympics after Anthony Villanueva.
Roel Velasco and Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco
Four years after Serantes’ win, Roel Velasco won a bronze medal in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona for the men’s light flyweight category.
Following this win, his brother Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco also secured a silver medal in the same category in 1996 in Atlanta.
Hidilyn Diaz
Another historic win for the Philippines was made after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz clinched a gold medal in the women’s 55-kg category in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Diaz bagged the first place after lifting a total of 224 kilograms, defeating eight other athletes and breaking the previous record of weightlifter Liao Qiuyun of China.
Before this win, Diaz also brought home a silver medal in 2016 Rio de Janeiro, in women’s 53-kg division.
Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial
Boxers Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Eumir Marcial raised the flag of the Philippines in 2020 Tokyo Olympics with Diaz, securing three medals in the boxing category.
Securing silver medals were Nesthy Petecio under the women’s featherweight division and Carlo Paalam in men’s flyweight.
Eumir Marcial won a bronze medal in men’s middleweight class.
