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IT was
dated 1982, but for all intents and purposes it could
have happened just yesterday. It was one of those “holy
shit” moments for Jay Jay de Ocampo, who was already
with a chip on his shoulder the size of a mountain. He
was never the athletic sort but he always tried. Not
everyone has an athletic bone anyway. It was more of
being overweight. “Let’s call it for what I was...fat,”
he says with a modicum of pride, as he fishes out an old
identification card, where he looked like he even ate
the refrigerator. Today he resembles nothing like that
person in the photo.
The
picture might be of recent vintage, but 1982 is like
decades ago. But through the video magic of YouTube, de
Ocampo, who works for an investment-holding company,
watched American triathlete Julie Moss crawl toward the
finish line during an Iron Man competition. Severely
dehydrated, Moss’s body shut down and it was only
through her sheer force of will that she finished. “I
tell people that their first Iron Man should be their
best one, because finishing should be their only
expectation,” Moss said afterward, as she joined the
race for her physiology thesis. Moss’s epic
demonstration of determination is largely credited for
the growth of triathlon as a sport.
And for
de Ocampo it meant no more reading books on how to swim
in zip locks while getting a tan on the steps of the
shallow portion of a swimming pool. It represented an
opportunity for him to find out who he really was. And
the great thing about taking up triathlon is that he
also reversed his diabetic condition without the intake
of medicines. “Just finishing a triathlon is a feat in
itself, because the body isn’t meant to endure long
hours of pain,” he concurs with Moss’s benediction for
one of the most grueling sports ever. “But as [Polo Tri
cofounding father] Rune Stroem says, ‘When you cross
that finish line—no matter what place you’re in—hold
your head up high.’ But...the best compliment I got came
from my son who said, ‘Dad, you’re no longer fat.’”
For
George Carag, triathlon is more than finding out how
tough you are, it’s also about conquering one’s fears.
Carag, who is a cabin attendant on Philippine Airlines’
international flights, wasn’t into sports like de Ocampo,
because he was a sickly child. “My concept of health,”
he reveals, “was bodybuilding.”
Through
his savings, he put up a bicycle shop and he gravitated
toward cycling as a hobby. And through cycling, he met
up with several members of Polo Tri (the group that was
formed out of Manila Polo Club) and began to take on
triathlon. “There’s a misconception about triathlon or
trying it out...where it makes one fit. It’s the other
way around, you have to get in shape and be fit to
compete, because it is never easy.”
Besides
the grueling race, Carag suffers from aquaphobia.
“That’s strange, isn’t it? Since you have to swim quite
a distance,” he says, as his eyes make contact with me
to impart just how serious a problem this is. “Even when
bathing, I make sure that I immediately wipe the water
from my eyes, or else a little panic sets in.”
During
one triathlon, Carag found himself freezing up in the
ocean. None of the lifeguards could immediately get to
him because of the choppy waters, leaving Carag no
choice but to swim out of his predicament. “It’s
something that I have to deal with during every
competition,” he admits. “I’d say, for me, 50 percent of
my effort is overcoming the anxieties of the race. I
make a mental checklist of things I need to go over
prior to the starting gun and that helps me to focus
more intently.”
“When I
look back at my first-ever competition—a half Iron Man
[a 1.9-km swim, a 90-km bike ride and a 30-km run] in
Matabungkay, Batangas, in 1998, I’d say that was my
best, because I was able to finish it.”
Franchesca Carpo, a winsome sprite of an architect,
looks at competing as a challenge and an opportunity “to
savor and enjoy life more.” In 2004, while hiking with
her sister Amanda at Pico de Loro, the highest mountain
in Cavite area, the freelance architect slipped and fell
a harrowing 80 feet down. Carpo fell in a treacherous
crevice and cracked her skull. Her head was a mass of
hematoma from the multiple injuries. With the hiking
party unable to rescue her, a call was placed to the
Philippine Marine base located in nearby Ternate for
help. It took more than half a day but the marines and
some other hikers eventually were able to rescue a cold
and damp Carpo, who drifted in and out of consciousness
throughout the ordeal.
Chesca,
as the 31-year old is called for short, now looks at her
“second life” with a different set of eyes. “I’m more
appreciative of things,” she disarms with an easy smile.
“Before, I was active in fitness activities more for
leisure and exercise. Now I use triathlon as a means for
benchmarking; for setting goals for myself.”
As one
of the newest members of Polo Tri, Chesca is oft-praised
by Stroem, the expatriate Norwegian who has made the
Philippines his home for the last 20 years, for her
courage. “You’d think that an accident like that would
keep her from more challenges, but I think it has made
her even stronger and more confident.”
“Triathlon is more demanding than mere leisurely
exercise,” says Chesca. “But it does help with
discipline and time management. I actually am able to
apply that to my work, isn’t that great?”
“Oh,
yeah,” she concludes. “I’m fitter now.”
Jay Jay
de Ocampo, George Carag and Francesca Carpo will be
joining their Polo Tri teammates when they compete in
the ITU Subic Bay International Triathlon on May 10 and
11.
With a
twist
SPORTS
can be captivating that when it sinks its teeth into us,
it never wants to let go. Take gymnastics, for example,
it is not called the “darling sport” for nothing. Odette
Perlada and Gina Victoriano aren’t gymnasts. Far from
it. They’re working moms who got into the management and
business side of gymnastics because of their daughters.
“Some of our friends invited us to send our girls to
gymnastics class,” recalls Perlada, who dabbles in real
estate by day. “And it was a pleasant surprise to see
how the sport increased all the girls’ strength, speed,
agility, flexibility and focus.”
They
enrolled their daughters one summer and they were
shocked at the appallingly poor facilities. Pooling
their resources with three other parents, they purchased
proper gymnastics equipment (“And we paid the right
taxes, too,” chimes in Victoriano, who is a certified
public accountant) and put up Gymnastics & Movement
Center in 2003. They first operated their classes in
Ateneo before moving to their current home at Celebrity
Sports Club, where they hold classes all year-round,
including modules for the summer (classes begin on March
31).
“Gymnastics isn’t a mainstream sport, but it’s a sport
in which we Filipinos can excel because of our size and
how lithe we are,” explains Victoriano.
“What’s
gratifying also about it is when we see the reactions of
the girls’ parents when they see their children
perform,” relates Perlada, who played tennis and
volleyball back in her schooling days. “The moms have
tears in their eyes when they say, ‘I didn’t know she
could do that [like balance on a beam and perform a
variety of routines].’ They get to know so much more
about their child when they watch them perform.”
Kids who
throw tantrums soon develop a form of maturity and get a
massive dose of confidence where they are able to do
things they previously couldn’t do. Perlada gushes,
“Many of our parents report that their kids’ school
teachers are amazed on their children’s newfound
self-esteem and can-do attitudes that they’ve
recommended to their friends to send their kids to
gymnastics school.”
“Our
student-to-teacher ratios are small [8:1] that allow for
better and more hands-on teaching,” says Victoriano, who
also points out that they pay their national
team-caliber coaches the best wages in the country.
“Even if
my daughter is now in college, I’m still as passionate
about the sport,” concludes Perlada. “It’s fulfilling
not just for the kids but for us parents as well.”
The
Gymnastics and
Movement
Center
will begin classes on March 31 at the Celebrity Sports
Club in Capitol Hills, Diliman, Quezon City. You may
call 642-0122 or 725-4640 or 0926-3398802 and
0917-8866322 for inquiries and more details. |
