Fil-Am Racing

Maligayang Pasko! Merry Christmas! May Santa give you aero wheels, and Nike vapourflys

This memorial, "A Tribute To Courage", is located in Kissimmee, Florida. It depicts a scene from the Bataan Death March of two soldiers, one American and one Filipino, helping each other up while a Filipino woman is offering water to them. It symbolizes the unique friendship and heroism between the Americans and Filipinos during World War II. Sculpted by Sandra Storm, the bronze statue has a brick walkway around it and has commemorative plaques describing the history of the Bataan Death March and of the memorial.
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After the marathon we were able to visit the in - the statue is similar to the one in Las Cruces New Mexico but with two Filipinos helping a US soldier.
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Congratulations to Bel Molina for completing the D***y Challenge in Walt Disney World in Orlando this past weekend! She completed the 48.6-mile challenge (5k, 10k, 13.1 miles and 26.2 miles in consecutive days from Thursday to Sunday) with her signature and infectious smile. Congratulations, Bel!!
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Bel played an important role as a co-race director for , which had very successful races in California, New Jersey, Chicago and Virginia last year.
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As we conclude 2017, we would like to honour one more WW2 hero from the Philippines. Some of us celebrated a White Christmas last week. But very few people know the story of Miguel White.

Miguel White was from Legaspi, Albay. He was the son of an American Father and Filipina Mother. Standing at 5’11” he exhibited great athletic skill in the both the 400m and 100m hurdles where he represented the Philippines at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. This was the same Olympic Games as Jesse Owens, Louis Zamperini (from the movie Unbroken) and our other Filipino hero Teofilo Yldefonso. Like Yldefonso, White also won a bronze medal, in the 400m hurdles. Unfortunately he fell during the 100m event.

After the Olympics, White joined the Philippine army, and served as a lieutenant in the 52nd Infantry Regiment. White was not in the infamous Bataan Death March. He was killed in action in 1942 during the Japanese invasion of Manila. His grandson, Romeo Nelson a retired US Marine recalls seeing one of his olympic certificates growing up, but his Bronze medal was lost in the war. There are however still a few photos of him to protect his memory.

Finally, on behalf of all the volunteers, partners, and sponsors of the Fil-Am Racing project and the Fil-Am Triathlon Club, we would like to thank all of you who participated in our events and supported our efforts to remember and honour our WW2 heroes in this 75th anniversary year. We look forward to seeing you at our events in 2018! Mabuhay and Happy New Year!

Most people are aware of the story of Olympic runner and US soldier, Louis Zamperini, thanks to Angelina Jolie’s movie, Unbroken.

However, many people do not know the story of his Filipino equivalent, Sgt. Teofilo Yldefonso. Yldefonso was a Philippine Scout, the elite branch of Filipino soldiers trained by the US Army. He was also a world class athlete who won 2 Bronze medals in the 200m breaststroke event in the 1928 Amsterdam and 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Yldelfonso also competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, in which both Zamperini and Jesse Owens, the American track and field athlete and four-time Olympic gold medalist also competed in front of Adolf Hi**er.

After WW2 broke out in the Philippines, Yldefonso became a prisoner of war and survived of the infamous Bataan Death March, 65 miles over 3 days with no food or water. Yoshiyuki Tsuruta, Yldefonso’s Japanese Olympic rival and 200m breaststroke and Gold medalist in
both 1928 and 1932 Olympics, found out about his imprisonment and called for his release. Tsuruta was then serving as a lieutenant in the Japanese Imperial Navy. Yldelfonso declined the order and chose to stay with his men. He subsequently died at the prison camp in Capas, Tarlac. He is a true Filipino hero whom we should remember.

https://youtu.be/PAF4zt4SMWY

Bruce Lee Protege, Who Helped Cowboys Win Super Bowl, to Get Film Treatment (Exclusive) The Mark Gordon Company is developing the story of Dan Inosanto, the protege of martial arts master Bruce Lee.

Happy Friday! Check out your Piyesta Pinoy Bayani 5K photos at www.filamracing.com

Photo Credit: Misha Media, Andy Gaston, Alice Arellano,Vincent Tiu