Rodrigo del Rosario

Originally from the municipality of Cabangan in the province of Zambales, Rodrigo del Rosario represented the Philippines in featherweight weightlifting at three Summer Olympics from 1948 through 1956. At his first tournament he placed fifth in a field of twenty-three competitors. In 1952 he placed fourth of twenty-two in the event, his best Olympic finish, and set a world (and Olympic) record in the military press portion of the event. He lifted 105kg, surpassing the 100kg lifted by Jafar Salmasi at the previous Games, and became the first (and, as of 2009, only) Filipino to set an Olympic record.

At the 1956 Summer Games his record was surpassed or equaled by all of the event’s medalists and was not given a final ranking as he failed to lift during the clean and jerk portion. Later in life he was a security officer, most notably guarding the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila during the time that the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation had its headquarters in the building. He was confined to a wheelchair for the last years of his life and died in October 2009. His son Arturo and his nephew Salvador were both inspired to become Olympic weightlifters by Rodrigo, which they did in 1972 and 1976, and 1968 through 1976 respectively.