| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Teófilo E. Yldefonso | |||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | "Ilocano Shark" | |||||||||||||||
| Nationality | PHI | |||||||||||||||
| Born | November 11, 1902 Piddig, Ilocos Norte |
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| Died | June 19, 1942 (aged 39) Capas, Tarlac |
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| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Weight | 73 kg (160 lb) | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||
| Stroke(s) | Breaststroke | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Teófilo E. Yldefonso (November 11, 1902 – June 19, 1942)[1] was a Filipino swimmer in the breaststroke. He is the first Filipino to win an Olympic medal, and the only Filipino to win multiple medals.
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Borrn in Sitio Bayog, Bgy.4, Bimmanga, Piddig, Ilocos Norte, he began swimming at the Guisit river as a small boy. In 1921, at age 18, he began to stand out in swimming competitions amassing a total of 144 medals in a storied 16 year career lasting through 1937.[2]
Yldefonso is the great-great grandfather of Filipino swimmer Daniel Coakley.[3]
He won his first bronze medal at the 200m breaststroke event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and his second bronze at the same event at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.Unfortunately after breaking the record in preliminary, he placed 7th in Berlin 1936.
Yldefonzo fought against the Japanese in Bataan. He survived the Bataan Death March, but later died at Capas Concentration Camp. His remains have never been recovered.