Ironwoman

The holidays gave me the chance to finally read my copy of Vanity Fair magazine with Caitlyn Jenner, (formerly 1976 Montreal Olympics decathlon champion Bruce Jenner).  Although I’ve written stories before about Bruce este.. Caitlyn.  This was a first-hand story coming from Caitlyn herself. Decathlon is the toughest competition in athletics, consisting of five track and five field events.  The champion is usually crowned the Ironman of the Olympics.  But even before Bruce embarked on his athletics career, he already showed signs of identifying himself to the female gender for she would dress up in her mother’s clothes. In fifth grade, he ran his first race and was the fastest.  He joined the football and  basketball teams of Sleepy Hollow High School.  He went to Graceland College in Lamont, Iowa on a football scholarship but injured his knee, ending his football career.  In April of 1991, he won the decathlon at the Kansas Relays and made the US Olympic team to the 1972 Olympics.  He finished 10th in Munich and the following day, went on a long distance run along the streets of Munich. He would practice eight hours a day, daily, for the next four years. In Montreal, Bruce then 26, was the saving grace in athletics for the US Team that  won only one gold medal in men’s track and none in the women’s side. He was an instant American hero with the women saying in unison “Oh what a body.” Bruce is 6’2” and 194 pounds when he won the  decathlon gold with a world record of 8.618 points.  The endorsements came  in  droves after he returned to America.  He was even taken in the seventh round of the National Basketball Association draft. But in the end, Bruce decided that he is happier being a woman and said  “Goodbye Bruce, hello Caitlyn” to end her interview.  Another Olympian who won the diving gold in the Seoul Olympics was Greg Lougines.  Greg is happily married  to a...man. “Ano Ba Yan?” said my friend Yuri.

Leizel  Getaruelas  joins  MMA

Remember  Leizel Lumindas Getaruelas, former Cebu’s queen of the road? Well a few years back she moved to Malaysia to become an aerobics and fitness gym instructor there.  Leizel said she joined some 10K races where she won some and recently embarked on a new sport, mixed martial arts.  Well, good luck Leizel. Just don’t break some bones in your body.

Elvisaya

It was a successful concert our group did at Robinsons Fuente just before Christmas. It was the fourth year that “Christmas with Elvisaya and Friends," was staged. What made this year’s edition different was the participation of the 22-man Lourdes Parish Rondalla. Of course, the younger crowd enjoyed the music of the Campus Idol winners while the older ones were thrilled with  Frank Sinatra in the person of Jhun Villahermosa.  TV host and Aliw awardee Amie Filomeno almost broke the glass panels around with her “penetrating voice.” Elvisaya, as usual, rocked the mall with the Elvis classics.  We would like to thank our sponsors Casa Ilongga, Robinsons Fuente, Metrografix and Summit Circle.

We will miss you

Just  before Christmas, several friends were taken by the Grim Reaper.  Felix Balbona, an avid chess player suffered a stroke during a tournament while former King Archer Lim Eng Beng lost his battle with liver cancer, ditto with coach Ron Jacobs. We were stunned by the sudden demise of Grammy Award  winner Natalie Cole who also had liver problems.  I’ve watched Natalie twice in Manila when she came over a few years back.