Simeon Toribio was born on the island of Bohol after his parents moved there from Zamboanga. He joined the school’s track and field team by chance, but soon improved his skills to compete on a national level. Toribio enrolled in the Siliman University in Dumaguete to study science earning some extra money by working in the university’s furniture shop. Jumping a new national record of 1.85 m, he became the best high jumper in the country and dominated this event well into the 1930s. Toribio was also an excellent triple jumper. In 1927, he took his first international title winning the high jump at the Far Eastern Games and defended (?) the title at the 1930 and 1934 editions of the Games. At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, Toribio placed fourth missing the bronze medal only in a jump-off. Earlier that year, he had cleared 1.95 m for another national record. In 1930, Toribio achieved his personal best of 2.00 m. The year of 1932 was to become a memorable one when he claimed bronze at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics after another jump-off (just months after he married his wife Maximiana). Toribio stayed in California and graduated in civil engineering from the University of Southern California.
After his success at the 1932 Olympic Games, Toribio was selected as the Filipino flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony in Berlin in 1936 In 1930, he was awarded the title “Asia’s Greatest Athlete” and was later voted Filipino Field Athlete of Half Century. During the War, he was active in an underground army and narrowly escaped being arrested by the Japanese Military Police. The Japanese officer saw one of his souvenirs from a competition presented to him by the Japanese Emperor, and because of that and the fact that it was the emperor’s birthday, Toribio was released. He later became an acknowledged civil engineer and Congressional representative for the province of Bohol in the Parliament of the Philippines from 1941-53. As a sports administrator, he served as vice president of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation from 1955 to 1959.
Personal Best: HJ – 2.00 (1930).
Philippines