On this day, August 8, 1928: Teofilo Yldefonso wins Philippines’ first-ever Olympic medal

Throughout the Philippines’ 100 years of participation in the Olympic Games, many Filipino sports heroes have stepped forward to bring honor to our flag. But there was one in particular who started it all by winning the country’s first-ever medal back in 1928: swimming legend Teofilo Yldefonso.

It was on this day, August 8, 96 years ago that he achieved that feat by finishing third in the men’s 200m breaststroke finals of the 1928 Amsterdam Games to take home the bronze medal.

According to records on the World Aquatics website, the event took place on Wednesday, August 8, 1928, at 9:20 p.m. The Filipino, who had qualified through the heats and the semifinals over the past days, lined up against five other swimmers: two from Germany, one from Sweden, one from Canada, and one from Japan.

Yoshiyuki Tsuruta of Japan won the gold medal by setting a then-Olympic record of 2:48.80 (the record is now held by France’s Leon Marchand, who clocked 2:05.85 in Paris 2024). Erich Rademacher of Germany finished second at 2:50:60, just 1.80 seconds behind Tsuruta.

The 25-year-old Yldefonso clocked in at 2:56:40 to win the bronze medal.

Who is Teofilo Yldefonso?

Yldefonso, according to a post by the National Quincentennial Committee commemorating the medal anniversary in 2021, was an active soldier under the Philippine Scouts on top of being a national athlete.

He competed for the Philippines in three editions of the Olympics — Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932, and Berlin 1936, and won bronze medals in back-to-back editions in 1928 and 1932.

Not only was he the country’s first medalist, for a long time, he was the Philippines’ only two-time medalist until Hidilyn Diaz joined that list three years ago. According to his biography on the Philippine Olympians Association website, he is recognized with the title of “The Father of the Modern Breaststroke”.

He would later become a survivor of the Bataan Death March but would die in a concentration camp near Capas. in 1942 during World War II. His hometown of Piddig, Ilocos Norte unveiled a statue in his honor in 2006.

How many medals does the Philippines have now?

The Philippines currently has a total of 18 medals, including four in the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics, where gymnast Carlos Yulo has won two gold medals and boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio have delivered one bronze medal each.

The country now has three gold medals, five silver medals, and 10 bronze medals in its history.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News