# Philippines at the 1924 Summer Olympics

The Philippines competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, from May 4 to July 27, 1924. The nation's participation at these Games marked its debut, and the debut of any Southeast Asian country, at the Summer Olympics. The delegation comprised one athlete, sprinter David Nepomuceno, and two officials, attaché B. Minelle and athletics coach and executive officer Regino Ylanan. Two other athletes, Fortunato Catalon and Juan Taduran, were supposed to join Nepomuceno but did not compete.
Nepomuceno was the flagbearer for the nation at the opening ceremony, but protested against the use of the flag of the United States alongside the flag of the Philippines per a decision made by the French Olympic Committee. He participated in two events, the men's 100 meters and 200 meters, but failed to advance to the later rounds.

## Background

The Games were held from May 4 to July 27, 1924, in the city of Paris, France. This edition of the Games marked the nation's first appearance and the first time a Southeast Asian country competed at the Olympic Games. The nation's participation at the Games was said to be influenced by Fortunato Catalon, who won the men's 100 meters and 200 meters at the 1921 Far Eastern Championship Games in Shanghai, Republic of China.

### Delegation

The delegation was organized by the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation, although its recognition as the National Olympic Committee of the nation was in 1929. The Philippine delegation was composed of three people. The officials present were B. Minelle, who served as the attaché, and Regino Ylanan, who served as the executive officer and the athletics coach for Nepomuceno. The athlete that competed was sprinter David Nepomuceno, who competed in the men's 100 meters and 200 meters. Two other athletes, sprinter Fortunato Catalon, who was set to compete in the men's 100 meters and 200 meters, and Juan Taduran, who was set to compete in the men's decathlon, did not start in their events.
Prior to the Games, all three athletes competed mostly in the Far East, with Nepomuceno and Catalon said to be as "world-class athletes" in the mid-1920s. Catalon and Taduran were gold medal winners at different editions of the Far Eastern Championship Games, with the former winning eight and the latter winning two in the lead-up to the Games.
The nation held trials for their selection of athletes who would compete at the Games. The events were held on May 5, 1924, where Nepomuceno and Catalon both ran the 100-yard dash in a credited time of 9.45 seconds, which was within one-fifth of the world record at that time. Taduran qualified for the Olympics some time after becoming the two-time winner in the decathlon at the Southeast Asian Olympic Tournament.

### Opening ceremony

The Philippine delegation marched 34th out of 44 nations in the Parade of Nations within the opening ceremony. Prior to the Parade of Nations, the French Olympic Committee decided on June 15 that the nation must hold two flags at the ceremony, the flag of the United States at the top and the flag of the Philippines at the bottom, as they were occupied by the United States at the time. This decision was protested by Nepomuceno, who stated that it would be too heavy to carry them both. This decision was then referred to the Embassy of the United States, which stated that the procedure should be upheld as this decision was also referred to the Moroccan delegation that did not compete, who would have needed to fly the flag of France alongside theirs. Ultimately, Nepomuceno held both flags for the delegation.

## Athletics

Three weeks before the Games, Taduran injured his collarbone after playing a football game with American G.I.s. He subsequently went to the Games as a representative for the nation. After a 33 day voyage on a Chinese ship towards Marseilles and a train ride, Nepomuceno and Catalon arrived in Paris on June 5 for light training. Despite arriving in Paris, Catalon did not attend nor compete at the Games. The athletics events were held at the Stade de Colombes. Nepomuceno first competed in the men's 100 meters on July 6, where he ran in the sixth heat. He placed six out of the six people in his heat, finishing with a time not fast enough to progress. Harold Abrahams of Great Britain eventually won the gold medal on July 7, finishing with an Olympic record-setting time of 10.6 seconds.
Nepomuceno then competed in the men's 200 meters on July 8, where he ran in the fifteenth heat. He placed third out of the three people in his heat, finishing again with a time not fast enough to progress. Jackson Scholz of the United States eventually won the gold medal on July 9, finishing with an Olympic record-setting time of 21.6 seconds. After his experience at the Games, a magazine quoted him saying:
   "Sana yung mga susunod sa akin ay hindi maranasan ang naranasan ko." (English translation: I hope that the ones succeeding me will not experience the things that I have experienced.")

### Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* Q = Qualified for the next round
* q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
* NR = National record
* N/A = Round not applicable for the event
* Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

### Track & road events

| Athlete | Event | Heats | Heats | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| David Nepomuceno | Men's 100 m | ? | 6 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| David Nepomuceno | Men's 200 m | ? | 3 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Fortunato Catalon | Men's 100 m | DNS | DNS | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Fortunato Catalon | Men's 200 m | DNS | DNS | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

### Combined events – Men's decathlon

| Athlete | Event | 100 m | LJ | SP | HJ | 400 m | 110H | DT | PV | JT | 1500 m | Final | Rank |
| Juan Taduran | Result | DNS | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Juan Taduran | Points | DNS | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |