MANILA – Ilongga Haydee Coloso-Espino, considered one of the greatest Filipina swimmers, passed away at the age of 83 on Thursday in Mandurriao, Iloilo.
Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) announced the passing of the Ilongga, whom the group described as “not just a trailblazer for the local swimming community but the entire country.”
“(Coloso-Espino) was the first to show Asia that the Filipino woman is a force to be reckoned with,” PSI wrote on their Facebook page on Friday. “We will strive to uphold the legacy of the ‘Asian Swim Queen’ in the work that we do at PSI.”
Coloso-Espino was the most bemedalled Philippine athlete in the Asian Games after collecting 10 medals – three golds, five silvers, and two bronzes.
She was 16 when she rose to fame after she clinched gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly events and silver in the 1954 Manila Asian Games. In the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, the Ilongga legend was a gold medalist in the 4×100-meter medley relay. She also bagged silver in the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, and 4×100-meter freestyle relay.
Coloso-Espino capped her illustrious career by winning three more medals – silver and two bronzes –in the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Coloso-Espino’s feat, while carrying the country’s colors, made her one of the inductees for the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame by the Philippine Sports Commission back in 2016. She was also honored by Philippine Sportswriters Association for three consecutive years, from 1953 to 1955./PN
