7. Reflections of a Life in the Fast Lane: HAYDEE COLOSO-ESPINO, Asia’s Swim Queen

In her time, she was hailed as the country’s greatest Filipina swimmer. She swam for the Philippines in 3 editions of the Asian Games, collecting 10 medals, in all colors. At age 18, she held 5 Philippine swimming records, 4 of them for individual events, In 1960, she qualified for the Olympics, competing against the world’s best in Rome. She was such a prolific producer of medals in the pool that she was dubbed as Asia’s Swim Queen, a title that HAYDEE COLOSO-ESPINO embraced and proudly wore all her life. After all, no Filipina swimmer has yet to surpass her colossal triumphs in the water, the lone Filipina triple gold medalist in swimming at the continental Asian Games.

Haydee was born on 28 August 1937 in Dueñas, Iloilo, the daughter of Atty. Lorenzo Coloso & Alicia Lanestosa Coloso. She was not exactly to the water born; at age 10, she came close to drowning when a boatload of picknickers she was with, capsized. As a precaution, her father gave her swimming pointers “so I won’t drown helplessly”, she recalled in an interview. From frolicking on the beach, she developed a deeper interest in swimming and began taking formal lessons.

By the time she was 13 and in high school, Haydee was competing and winning in national meets. She became a star swimmer of  Iloilo City College (now University of Iloilo), ably coached by Mr. Leon Tirol. Her rigorous training consisted of two hours of swimming before dawn and two more hours at sunset. She was soon surprising her coach and mentors with her fast clockings. Her best time in her pet 100 meter freestyle event qualified her for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, but at age 15, she was deemed underaged for international competitions.

Nonetheless, the aquatic feats of the young teen caught the attention of sports officials from Far Eastern University which boasts of one of the best women’s swim teams in the country. Haydee thus moved to Manila to take up Physical Education at FEU and joined the swim team coached by Mr. Freddy Cruz and Mrs. Dolores Alforte, who also acted as the girls’ chaperone. Under the guidance of her coach, she improved her times significantly in inter-collegiate swimming championships, and started amassing medals for her school, to the delight of her mentors.

Haydee even put her swimming prowess to good use by moonlighting as a stunt swimmer. In 1953, she doubled for Nida Blanca for the actress’s  swimming scenes in the 1953 movie “Hiyasmin”. Indeed, more exciting times ahead awaited this talented Ilongga who was now making a splash in the big city. With more stiff competition to contend with, Haydee was pushed to give her best, and her hard work paid off when she broke 2 national records. For the 100 meters free, she clocked 1 minute 11 seconds. This led to her being named to the Philippine Swimming Team for the 2nd Asian Games in Manila.

1954 was a banner year for Haydee as it was her first time to compete under the Philippine flag. She was entered in her favorite 100 meter freestyle event. Bolstered by the confidence of breaking 2 Philippine records, she vanquished the top Japanese bets, Tomiko Atarashi and Olympian Shizue Miyabe, to win Gold with the time of 1:09.7 min., shattering her personal best.  She did so in the last 5 meters of the race, mustering up strength to pip them at the finish, thrilling the hometown crowd, and her mother Alicia, who fainted in disbelief at her come-from-behind victory.

She returned to the pool to win the 100 m. butterfly Gold with a Games Record of 1:28.3 min. She was trailed by teammates Norma Yldefonso (daughter of legendary Olympic medalist swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso) and Sandra von Giese for a rare 1-2-3 all-Filipino finish. At the 4 x 100 m. freestyle finals, she snagged her 3^rd medal—a Silver for the Philippines—shared with Sonia von Giese, Gertrudes Vito and Nimfa Lim behind the Japanese quartet.

Suddenly, Haydee Coloso became the toast of the country, and the Philippine Sportswriters Association acclaimed her as the Women’s Swimmer of the Year. The teener was as much thrilled to receive the award as meeting then undefeated heavyweight boxing legend Rocky Marciano, who was invited to grace the affair. Haydee would go on to win the same award for the next 2 years.

As these significant moments in her sporting life were happening, Haydee’s love life was also unfolding. In Manila, she had settled in a boarding house beside Philippine Women’s University along Taft Avenue, just a short commute to FEU. As luck would have it, a fellow Ilonggo was boarding there as well, reviewing for the upcoming bar exams.

Young army captain Rodolfo Espino, son of former mayor Marcos J. Espino of Leganes, struck up a friendship with Haydee, which soon blossomed into a real romance. Just after the 2nd Asian Games, the two eloped, much to the initial shock of their parents. After all, she had been scheduled to represent the country at that year’s 1954 Melbourne Olympics. This did not materialize however, as by the time the global sporting event opened in Australia later in the year, Haydee was already pregnant with her first baby, Daisy.

After Daisy’s birth, the young mother resumed her swimming career and whipped herself back into shape daily at the Rizal Memorial pool. At the start of 1955, the prodigious swimmer held 5 Philippine national records: 100 m. freestyle at 1:09.5 mins. (1st heat, 2nd Asian Games-Manila, 5 May 1954); 200 m. freestyle at 2:45.5 mins. (National Open Championship, Manila, 9 Jan. 1954); 400 m. freestyle (National Collegiate Championship at 5:51.8 mins. (FEU, Manila, 17 Dec. 1953); 100 m. butterfly at 1:27.0 mins. (National Open Championship, 7 Jan. 1954), 4 x 100 m. relay at 5:15.6 mins. (with Sonia von Giese, G. Vito, N. Lim, 2nd Asian Games, May 5 and 7, 1954).

 By the time the 1958 3^rd Asian Games were announced to open in Tokyo, Japan, Haydee was back in fighting form. Her stint at the games in Tokyo proved to be her most productive yet, winning 4 medals: Individual Silver for the 100 m. free (1:06.4 min.) and 200 meter freestyle (2:32.2 min); Silver in 4x100 m. free (4:50.4 min), and a precious Gold in the 4 x100 medley relay, where she anchored the team in a new games record of 5:22.2 mins. In one rare moment, Haydee recalled, the Philippine delegation came face to face with Emperor Hirohito of Japan, who had invited the athletes in the spirit of peace and goodwill.

1960 would prove to be a historic milestone for Haydee as she finally realized her dream to be an Olympian. The Philippines sent a delegation of 5 women athletes, 3 of whom were swimmers: Sandra von Giese, Gertrudes Lozada and Haydee Coloso-Espino, who, at 23 was the oldest member of the team.

Arriving in Rome, she was starstruck to see world-class athletes—from American heavyweight boxer Cassius Clay, and fellow swimmers like the celebrated Olympic multi-medalist Dawn Fraser of Australia, who practiced alongside her in the training pool. During the qualifying heats, she was placed in Heat 4, against the American champion freestyler Chris von Saltza, who would later place 2nd to Fraser and win 3 Gold medals. Haydee clocked 1:07.8 in the 100 m. free and placed 6th in heat 4, failing to advance to the semifinals. Overall, she placed 25^th in a field of 32 swimmers.

Of her first and only Olympic experience, she reflected: “At least, hindi naman ako last! My trip to Rome was not without its high points. We visited many churches and, being from a Catholic country, we were given a special audience by Pope John Paul XXIII after officiating Mass at Castle Gandolfo. That was a historic occasion, and the news landed in the papers back home”.\\

She returned to the country a proud and fulfilled Olympian, and went on to continue with her studies and training. After finish her Physical Education course, she was immediately taken in by her alma mater, FEU, to handle P.E. swimming classes. She would also take assignments in Lyceum and Araullo High School. Weekends were devoted to training at the Rizal Stadium pool.

In 1962, Haydee was called again to lead the Philippine swimming campaign at the 4^th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia from 24 August to 4 September 1962. At age 25, she would bring home 3 medals to solidify her reputation as Asia’s premiere Swim Queen –a Team Silver for the 4 x 100 m. freestyle (shared with Corazon Lozada, Gertrudes Lozada, and Connie Paredes), a Team Bronze for the 4 x 100 medley relay (with Tessie Lozada, Gertrudes Lozada and Dolores Agustin), and an Individual Bronze for the 100 m. women’s freestyle.

 The 4^th Asiad would be the last international swimming event she would compete in as a Philippine national athlete. After all, the young mother’s priorities had shifted to her growing family. She would have 7 kids in all: after Daisy came Debbie, Dennis, Dindo, Dino, Dwight and Daphne. She retired from competitive swimming to focus on raising her kids and establishing her teaching career at Far Eastern University.  But her love for the water never waned, she continued to swim at the Rizal pool whenever she could. Second son Dindo seemed to have inherited her swimming genes as he became an accomplished swimmer, with breast stroke as his forte.

 As a swim teacher, she kept an eye on promising swimmers and it is a little-known fact that she discovered young William “Billy” Wilson, who, at age 18, would go on to rule the 200 m. men’s freestyle event at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, India, swim in the 1984 L.A. Olympics, and become a bemedalled SEA Games swimmer. Haydee also chaperoned the Philippine swimming team to several international meets and was sent to the U.S. to attend a swimming seminar in 1985.

Haydee had a long and fruitful career in education, teaching continuously in Far Eastern University, her alma mater, until 1993. That same year, the family migrated to Canada. She would return to the Philippines for good in 2007 and settled back to her home province of Iloilo.

In 2016, Haydee Coloso-Espino, the country’s greatest Filipina swimmer, received the highest accolade by being inducted into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame, the first Filipina swimmer to be installed in the hallowed list.

Looking back at her glorious career and the rewards of swimming, she said: “I am glad I have contributed something to Philippine sports”. At the same time, she pondered,  “I wonder…had the Incentive Act been given in my time, why maybe, I could have been richer than Hidylin Diaz! Now there are only 17 of us pensioners alive, with a small monthly pension of Php 5,000. I hope the incentive act will be improved. That's the irony of life. Just giving out of my sentiments. Anyways thanks just the same. Thanks for the recognition of being in the "Hall of Fame"

Haydee continued to be active despite a mild stroke she suffered in her 80s. She used a walker to get around Iloilo, and discovered the wonders of technology, including cellphones and facebook, where she would post pictures of her family, her daily activities, her travels and nostalgic photos of her wonder years.  “At least, I still have use of my fingers, and I have textmates to share stories with!”, she quips with a tone of gratitude.

Just about to weeks from her 84^th birthday, the greatest Filipina swimmer of all time passed away on 12 August 2021 in her home province, surrounded by her loved ones and family. The feats of Haydee Coloso-Espino, whether in, and out of the water,  remain unsurpassed, and her life journey stands as a testament to the spirit of a Filipina, empowered early by the love of her sports,  to give her best every day, test her limits, and then exceed them. All these she accomplished in the multiple roles she chose to assume: as an athlete,  an educator, a wife,  a mother.

Haydee Coloso-Espino found triumphs amidst her trials, successes amidst her losses, and the perfect balance that allowed her to live a long, purposeful and peaceable life. Her story should thus inspire the next generation of Philippine swimmers to dream beyond big, by putting country first before personal glory. Medals will tarnish, and records will fall, but the nobility of purpose which she pursued with all vigor and heart, is for her, a reward more fulfilling, more enduring. Her legacy she left behind is sure to live on and on.

SOURCES:

Progress 1955, Year End Report on Philippine Sports

Series of FB interviews via FB messenger with Mrs Haydee Coloso-Espino, between 28 Aug. 2017 to 26 November 2018.

Interview with Mr. Dwight "Ike"  Espino, son of Mrs. H. Espino

Photos from Mrs. Haydee Coloso-Espino Archives, used with permission. All others, Author's Collection.