Palaro pays homage to Ilocos swim legend

A Filipino swimming legend became the inspiration for the logo of this year’s Palarong Pambansa.

Teodoro Yldefonso, the Philippines’ first Olympic medalist, was immortalized as a photo of him standing with his hands on his hips becominbg the inspiration behind the “pixelated human figure” in the logo.

This was a fitting tribute for Yldefonso as this year’s Palaro will be held in Ilocos Norte from 24 to 31 May.

Born in Piddig, Ilocos Norte, in 1903, the “Ilocano Shark” captured two bronze medals when he competed in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke in the 1928 Amsterdam and 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games.

Yldefonso, who was also a lieutenant in the Philippine Scouts, would also dominate in the Far Eastern Games in his pet event, winning four gold medals in 1923 in Osaka, Japan, 1927 in Shanghai, 1930 in Tokyo, and 1934 in Manila.

His last foray in the Summer Games was in 1936 in Berlin just before World War II where he finished in seventh place in the men’s 200m breastroke.

Despite surviving the Bataan Death March, the prized swimmer died at the age of 38 in 1942 at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac as he was denied medical treatment by the Japanese.

Former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. posthumously honored Yldefonso with the Presidential Award for Meritorious Service in 1967.

Yldefonso also remains the only Filipino swimmer to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame when he was honored in 2010.