Philippine Athletics at the Olympic Games: 1924 ? 2012 ? Hurdler49 ...

Athletics competition is simple. The athletes who run the fastest, throw the farthest, and leap the highest (and longest) win. The victors are determined by the stopwatch and the measuring tape; their triumphant efforts immortalized in the annals of history.

Back in my college athletics days, I found inspiration in the feats of past Olympic champions. In the subsequent years, I consumed as much Olympic- and athletics-related material as possible. I?ve written quite a lot of articles about those champions from foreign lands, but when it came to my countrymen, I knew next to nothing.

One can argue that most of the past Filipino Olympic performances in athletics are forgettable. Track & field only takes centerstage every four years, so who remembers those who came in, say, 49th place?

Hence, I?ve compiled a list of all Filipino track & field Olympians since the 1924 Amsterdam Olympics, the first time our country took part in the quadrennial event. To be an Olympian is an achievement in itself. And I?m quite certain that statistical results and overall rankings are inadequate measures of one?s struggle just to be able to compete at the world?s highest stage.

I hope that this list would inspire other Filipinos to read up on our past sporting champions, to look beyond the numbers. Each and every name in this list has a unique story. This is my small contribution in honoring their efforts for Flag and Country.

Note: This is still a work in progress. Please message me for corrections.

Philippine Athletics at the Olympic Games

Sources:

1. ?Athletics at the Summer Olympics.? (Wikipedia, 26 August 2012). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_Summer_Olympics (27 August 2012)
2. ?Official Olympic Reports.? (LA84 Foundation, 2012). http://www.aafla.org/5va/reports_frmst.htm (27 August 2012)
3. ?Philippine Olympians: 1924 ? 2004.? (Philippine Olympic Committee, 19 November 2004). http://www.olympic.ph/pdf/olympians.pdf (27 August 2012)
4. ?Philippines.? (Sports Reference, 2012). http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/PHI/ (27 August 2012)
5. Todor Krastev, ?Sports Statistics ? International Competition Archive.? (Sports Statistics, 26 August 2012). http://todor66.com/ (27 August 2012)

Source: http://hurdler49.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/philippine-athletics-at-the-olympic-games-1924-2012/

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