Rogelio Onofre (born 12 December 1939) is a Filipino sprinter. He competed in the men's 100 metres at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

Early life and education

Onofre was born on 12 December 1939 in the then town of Tarlac in the province of Tarlac but grew up in Dagupan,

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...

. According to his own account, Onofre often competed and won in local athletic races in his hometown of Dagupan barefooted prior to entering high school. He also competed in races in neighboring

Binmaley Binmaley, officially the Municipality of Binmaley ( pag, Baley na Binmaley; ilo, Ili ti Binmaley; tgl, Bayan ng Binmaley), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population ...

as well in regional private schools athletics meets. In 1963, Onofre was given a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

enabling him to pursue studies in Colorado and Los Angeles in the United States.

Career

Onofre initially competed in men's high jump in regional private school meets and was scouted by coaches of the Philippine athletics team becoming a candidate for the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games ( ja, 第3回アジア競技大会) and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A ...

in Tokyo. He shifted to 100 and 200-meter runs since he felt inadequate in high jump and he eventually secured a berth in the men's 4x100-meter relay squad with

Remegio Vista Remegio Vista (born 25 May 1934) is a Filipino sprinter. He competed in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Early life Remegio Vista was born on May 25, 1934 in Tibiao, Antique in the Philippines. Career Vista compet ...

, Isaac Gomez and Claro Pellosis; all gold medalists in the 1958 Games. Onofre competing in the 4x100-meter relay won a gold medal in the

1962 Asian Games ) , Host city = Jakarta, Indonesia , Nations participating = 17 , Athletes participating = 1,460 , Events = 120 in 13 sports , Opening ceremony = 24 August 1962 , Closing ceremony = 4 September 1962 , ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

. A year after the games, he secured a

which enabled him to train and study in the United States. Onofre along with Vista,

William Mordeno William Mordeno (1947/1948 – January 30, 2022) was a Filipino sprinter. Biography One of the top-sprinters in the Philippines in the 1960s, he competed at the 1966 Asian Games where he won a bronze in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay with R ...

Arnulfo Valles Arnulfo V. Valles (born 15 August 1940) is a Filipino sprinter. He competed in the men's 100 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport ev ...

took part in the 4x100-meter relay at the

1966 Asian Games The 1966 Asian Games (), also known as the V Asiad, were a continental multi-sport event that was held from 9 to 20 December 1966, in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 142 events in 16 sports were contested by athletes during the games. Taiwan and Isr ...

in Bangkok where they settled for bronze. His last major competition was the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City where he competed in men's 100-meter and

110-meter hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

; failing to progress from the preliminaries.

Post-retirement

After retiring from athletics, Onofre settled in the United States living in San Francisco by 2021. He also has a granddaughter; Zion Corales Nelson who became an athlete like himself, who won a silver in the women's 4x100 meter relay in the

2019 Southeast Asian Games The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, was the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which ...

. In 2021, he was inducted to the

Philippine Sports Hall of Fame The Philippine Sports Hall of Fame (PSHOF) is a hall of fame established in 1999 to honor Filipino athletes, trainers, and coaches with the first batch of inductees included in the hall of fame in 2010. The Philippine Sports Commission manages th ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Onofre, Rogelio 1939 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Filipino male sprinters Olympic track and field athletes for the Philippines Place of birth missing (living people) Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 Asian Games Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Asian Games bronze medalists for the Philippines Sportspeople from Pangasinan Sportspeople from Tarlac Filipino expatriates in the United States Philippine Sports Hall of Fame inductees