David Nepomuceno

David Nepomuceno, from the Albay province, was the first Olympian from the Philippines and the country’s only competitor at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Together with fellow countryman Fortunato Catalon, he was a world class sprinter in the mid-1920s. In Paris, however, Nepomuceno did not advance from the heats in either event, 100 m and 200 m. His best year was 1925, when he won gold in the 200 m and silver in the 100 m (behind Catalon) and achieved a personal best in the 100 m only two tenths of a second short of the Charley Paddock’s world record. At the 1927 Far Eastern Games, Nepomuceno took gold in the 100 m and bronze in the 200 m, when Anselmo Gonzaga became the new star in the dash. Nepomuceno served with the Philippine Scouts in the United States Navy and died on duty in 1939.

Personal Bests: 100 – 10.6 (1927); 200 – 22.5 (1925).