Featured Olympian
Rodrigo del Rosario
Rodrigo del Rosario -- The Filipino Strongman
In his childhood, Rodrigo del Rosario was a sprinter. But fate led him to excel and make a name not as the fastest Filipino, but the strongest. He was a legend in weightlifting.
The Cabangan, Zambales native is known as the Philippines' original strongman, being the only Filipino weightlifter to ever set an Olympic (and world) record and represent the country in three Olympic Games.
Standing a mere 5'4", Del Rosario was the star of the Philippine contingent in 1948 when he placed fifth out of 23 competitors in the 1948 Olympic Games in London. It was the first Olympc Games after World War II, and the war-ravaged Philippines lost many of its athletes in the hostilities. So Del Rosario's impressive performance was a much needed boost to the Philippine squad's spirit.
In 1952 in Helsinki, Finland, Del Rosario even improved on his performance by placing fourth (out of 22) in his event, his best Olympic finish ever. He even capped it by setting an Olympic (and World) Record in the military press portion of his event when he lifted 105 kgs, surpassing the 100 kgs of Jafar Salmasi of Iran at the previous Games. It was the first and only (as of 2021) Olympic record set by a Filipino.
At the 1956 Summer Games in Melbourne, Del Rosario, already 39-year-old, failed to finish when he failed to complete the lift during the clean and jerk portion.
He did not stop there, however. He continued to compete and struck gold in 1970 at the World Championships in the USA when he got lucky and awarded the gold medal after the top three lifters were disqualified for using performance-enhancing drugs..
Del Rosario, later in life, served as a security officer at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
He was confined to a wheelchair in the last years of his life. He died in October 2009 at the age of 92.
Del Rosario's legacy lived on through his son Arturo and nephew Salvador who were both inspired by him to become Olympic weightlifters, too.
Salvador first qualified for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, while Arturo's turn came at the 1972 Games in Munich. The two donned the Philippine colors at the same time at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.