The top 40 Filipino athletes of the last century

Alex Eala (Photo by Adrian Dennis/AFP), Paeng Nepomuceno (Photo by Artu Nepomuceno), Manny Pacquiao (Photo by John Gurzinski/AFP), Efren “Bata” Reyes (Photo from @efrenthemagician/Instagram), Carlos Yulo (Photo by Lionel Bonaventure/AFP), Hidilyn Diaz (Photo by Vincenzo Pinto/ AFP)

With three Olympic gold medals and young stars still in the international eye, there’s arguably never been a better time to be a Filipino athlete.

As the Philippine Daily Inquirer celebrates its 40th anniversary, we’ve put together 40 Filipino athletes you absolutely have to know about, spanning around a century of the country’s athletic greatness, and separated by generation.

1. The gold medal era (2010s-2020s)

The current era in Philippine sports and arguably the most successful. We can talk about how the 2000s saw prime Manny Pacquiao become a legend, but he was only one person. Millennial and Gen Z athletes wrote their own sports legacies by doing what previous generations of athletes could only dream of doing.

• Hidilyn Diaz, weightlifting

• Carlos Yulo, gymnastics

• EJ Obiena, pole vaulting

• Alex Eala, tennis

• Alyssa Valdez, volleyball

• Phil and James Younghusband, football

• Nesthy Petecio, boxing

• Eduard Folayang, mixed martial arts and wushu

• Rachel Anne Daquis, volleyball

• Wesley So, chess

2. The ‘90s and ‘00s icons

The 1990s and the 2000s were the most star-studded era of Filipino sports. We had peak Manny Pacquiao and legends like Efren “Bata” Reyes, among others.

• Manny Pacquiao, boxing

• Efren “Bata” Reyes, billiards

• Onyok Velasco, boxing

• Brandon Vera, mixed martial arts

• Benjie Paras, basketball

• Akiko Thomson, swimming

• Donnie Nietes, boxing

• Alvin Patrimonio, basketball

• Nonito Donaire, boxing

• Dave Bautista, wrestling

3. The ‘70s and ‘80s legends

Athletes from this time also grew to be certified legends, like Lydia de Vega, known as the fastest woman in Asia, the iconic Filipino bowler Paeng Nepomuceno, and Long Jump Queen Elma Muros-Posadas.

• Robert Jaworski, basketball

• Samboy Lim, basketball

• Lydia de Vega, track and field

• Allan Caidic, basketball

• Paeng Nepomuceno, bowling

• Atoy Co, basketball

• Eugene Torre, chess

• Bong Coo, bowling

• Ramon Fernandez, basketball

• Elma Muros-Posadas, long jump

4. The OGs

And of course, Philippine athletics isn’t just recency bias; we have to show respect and honor those who came before in the formative years of modern sports.

• Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, boxing

• Pancho Villa, boxing

• Caloy Loyzaga, basketball

• Kurt Bachmann, basketball

• Eddie Pacheco, football, basketball

• David Nepomuceno, track and field

• Teofilo Yldefonso, swimming

• Simeon Toribio, high jump

• Jose Villanueva, boxing

• Anthony Villanueva, boxing