Bana Sailani (October 21, 1937 – 2011) was a Filipino swimmer and swimming instructor. He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics and the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Early life and education

Sailani who is of Tausūg and Badjao ethnicity was born in Siasi, Sulu. He started to participate in swimming competitions as early as when he was still an elementary student at the Sisangat Siasi Sulu Elementary School. He attended the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

for his secondary studies following his stint at the 1956 Summer Olympics but stopped studying before his participation at the

to help his brother Egging enter the University of the Philippines for Egging's collegiate studies.

Career

Competitive

He was encouraged by his grade school principal to participate in swimming competitions and Sailani later won first place twice in regional competitions. Former Olympian Sambiao Basanung scouted him when he was on his sixth grade and brought him to Manila in 1949 to train for the

1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games ( fil, Palarong Asyano 1954), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954 was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Commi ...

. Sailani's District Supervisor Julio Barnes and Tila Rasul, who is the father of former Senator

Santanina Rasul Santanina Tillah Rasul (born Santanina Centi Tillah, September 14, 1930) is a Filipina politician and the first Muslim woman member of the Senate of the Philippines. Education In 1952, Rasul earned a BA in Political Science ''cum laude'' from ...

also encouraged Sailani in his swimming career pursuit at a time when he had already earned a reputation in Mindanao as a "star swimmer and record breaker". He also joined the

Palarong Pambansa The Palarong Pambansa ( Filipino for "National Games") is an annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from 17 regions of the Philippines. The event, started in 1948, is organized and governed by the Department of Education. Student- ...

a national-level competition. He won at the 1952 National Games which was hosted in Legaspi, Bicol at age 15. In 1953, Sailani broke national records. In March of that year, Sailini set a record for the 1,500 meter freestyle race beating the previous national record by five seconds set by his mentor Basanung in the tryouts for the 1950 Summer Olympics. In December 1953, he broke the record for the 400 meter race two times consecutively and became the first Filipino to swim in that distance in less than five minutes. He outbested second-placer Agapito Lozada by almost two meters. Following a vote, he was named as the Athlete of the Year for 1953 by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA). Sailani became the first Muslim Filipino athlete to be part of the Philippine delegation to the Asian Games at age 17 making his debut to the competition at the 1954 edition. He also competed at the

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

and

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

editions of the Games. He also competed at the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

and

. Sailani managed to qualify for the 1964 Summer Olympics but was not included in the Philippine delegation to the games. National records continued to be broken by Sailani. In 1960 he was the holder of national records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle races. Sailani was also voted Swimmer of the Year by the PSA in 1954 and 1958.

Coaching

At the Ateneo de Manila University from 1965 to 1999, Sailani served as a swimming coach for the university In 1978 he joined the Makati Sports Club as a swimming instructor and is with the club as of 2004. Sailani also served with the Philippine Air Force from 1963 to 1991 where he trained athletes for intra-military competitions.

Personal life

Sailani, while studying at the University of Santo Tomas as a high school student, had three girlfriends in sequence. At around age 20, having been part of a Catholic school, he converted to Catholicism from Islam and was baptized with the adopted name of "Martin," one of the priests serving in the school. Sailani later reverted to Islam. He met Aurora Mendoza, who would be later his wife, while working with Manolo Elizalde, one of the sponsors of his swimming stints along with Senator

Ambrosio Padilla Ambrosio Bibby Padilla (December 7, 1910 – August 11, 1996The Philippine Daily Inquirer, In Loving Memory on the 7th Death Anniversary of Ambrosio Padilla', The Philippine Daily Inquirer, B.14 (11 augustus 2003)) was a Filipino basketball ...

. Sailani married Mendoza in 1963 in the Catholic Church after seeking dispensation. Sailani had four children with Mendoza, a daughter and three sons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sailani, Bana 1937 births 2011 deaths Filipino male swimmers Olympic swimmers for the Philippines Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics People from Sulu Asian Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1954 Asian Games Swimmers at the 1958 Asian Games Swimmers at the 1962 Asian Games Converts to Islam from Roman Catholicism Asian Games silver medalists for the Philippines Asian Games bronze medalists for the Philippines Medalists at the 1954 Asian Games Medalists at the 1958 Asian Games Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games Filipino Muslims University of Santo Tomas alumni 20th-century Filipino people 21st-century Filipino people