Miguel White (Athletics)

miguel white
Miguel White (Athletics) | @psc_gov (Philippine Sports Commission)

Miguel White (Athletics)

  • 1936 Berlin Olympics Games bronze medalist – 400m hurdles
  • 1934 Manila Far Eastern Games gold medalist – 400m hurdles
  • 1930 Tokyo Far Eastern Games bronze medalist – 400m hurdles

Born on October 9, 1909, of Filipino-American descent, Miguel White took the athletics stage winning the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles in the ninth edition of the Far Eastern Games in Tokyo.

With a promise of dominating the games, the 5’11 tall White won the gold medal in the same event and set a new national record of 53.0 seconds – getting him the monicker the fastest man in Philippine hurdles.

Two years later, Miguel represented the country and competed in the 110 and 400m hurdles, together with the 28-man Philippine delegation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

The then 26-year-old Albay native gave the Philippines its fifth Olympic medal after finishing the bronze medal in the well-battled 400-meter hurdles. White was the last athlete to win a medal in the Olympic’s athletics, following Simeon Toribio’s win in 1932.

White continued his fight for glory, not as an athlete, but serving as a lieutenant in the 51st Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Army, where he was killed during the start of the Japanese occupation.

To honor his greatness, he was inducted in the first batch of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

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