Region R.

Ylanan
(September 7, 1889 – 1963)

Region R. Ylanan was a Filipino athlete, physician, sports administrator, physical

educator, and sports historian who lived from September 7, 1889 until September 6,
1963. He rose to prominence after winning three gold medals in track and field at the
Far Eastern Championship Games in Manila in 1913. He won two more gold at the
1915 Games and also played baseball for his country in three tournaments. In 1924,
he founded the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Philippines. By
training, he was a doctor of medicine and surgeon, and in 1930 he became the first
Filipino to receive a physical education degree from the United States. He was
named head of physical education at the University of the Philippines, the country's
first and most prominent university, when he was 30 years old. Later, he was
national sports director and secretary-treasurer of the Philippine Amateur Athletic
Federation (a precursor to the national Olympic committee). He was the Filipino
head of delegation for the 1936 Berlin Olympics and coached David Nepomuceno,
the country's first Olympian in 1928.
Ylanan was born in Bogo, Cebu, and attended Cebu City High School, where he
played catcher for the institution. He continued to participate in the sport while
studying medicine at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.

In his twenties, he had his first taste of high-level sport when he was named to the
all-Filipino national baseball team as a center fielder in 1911. 1 (1) Despite his early
baseball success, Ylanan made his mark as an athlete in track and field.

1
Joseph A. Reaves (2004). Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia, pg. 97.
Following that, he concentrated on his education, graduating as a doctor of medicine
from the University of the Philippines in 1918. He worked as a surgeon at the
Philippine General Hospital, but his true passion was sports. 2 (2)The national bureau
of education sent him to Springfield College in Massachusetts, where he graduated
in 1920 with a degree in physical education and a thesis titled "The Relationship of
Exercise to Growth and Development." He was the first Filipino to receive the
qualification. This experience propelled his career in sports administration, and he
was named director of physical education at the University of the Philippines the
following year. He was the director of the university department for seven years. 3 (3)
He was the head coach for the Filipino baseball team in the Far Eastern
Championship Games in 1921 and 1923;4 (4) the squad won the title both year.
In the athletics discipline, Ylanan was chosen to represent the Philippines at the first
Far Eastern Championship Games in 1913. His baseball throwing ability transferred
into success in the shot put and discus throw in the tournament in Manila, where he
won with marks of 10.76 m (35 ft 3+12 in) and 28.28 m (92 ft 9+14 in), respectively.
He earned his third athletics gold medal in the pentathlon, making him the highest
performing athlete at the competition and a vital player in the Philippines clinching
the athletics crown. He returned to the 1915 Games in Shanghai as a student and
defended his shot put championship with an improved throw of 10.91 m (35 ft 9+12
in).
Although he did not repeat his first-place finish, he did return to the podium with a
bronze medal in the pentathlon. The Philippines won the championship title for the
second time, but this time it was Genaro Saavedra who led the charge, taking four
gold medals in total.5 (5)Ylanan competed again at the competition, this time as a
catcher for the Filipino baseball team at the 1917 Far Eastern Championship Games.
Around this time, he began publishing written works on the subject of sport, including
an early summary of running technique and form in the Philippine Education
Magazine in 1926.[8] In 1927, he was promoted to the position of national athletic
director as well as secretary-treasurer for the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation
- the country's leading sports organization. He held the latter role for nearly two
decades.
2
Iñigo, Manolo R. (2001-09-07). Ylanan Legacy a Tough Act to Follow. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pg. A22.
3
ñigo, Manolo (2012-03-05). PBA fans clamoring for dominant ‘imports.
4
Luna, Eufrosino & Alarde, Hipolito Tiong (1980-01-05). Dr. Regino R. Ylanan .
5
Far East Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-01-12.
Bibliography
Joseph A. Reaves (2004). Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia, pg. 97. University of
Nebraska Press.

Iñigo, Manolo R. (2001-09-07). Ylanan Legacy a Tough Act to Follow. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pg.
A22. Retrieved on 2015-01-12.

ñigo, Manolo (2012-03-05). PBA fans clamoring for dominant ‘imports’. Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Retrieved on 2015-01-12.

Luna, Eufrosino & Alarde, Hipolito Tiong (1980-01-05). Dr. Regino R. Ylanan - Bogohanong Namandila
sa Kabantug (in Tagalog). Bogo Cebu (archived). Retrieved on 2015-01-12.

Far East Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-01-12.