The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Philippines

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This page contains a list of the greatest Filipino Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 5 of which were born in Philippines. This makes Philippines the birth place of the 73rd most number of Athletes behind Tunisia, and Somalia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Filipino Athletes of all time. This list of famous Filipino Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Filipino Athletes.

Photo of Efren Reyes

1. Efren Reyes (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 44.55, Efren Reyes is the most famous Filipino Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Efren Manalang Reyes (born August 26, 1954), popularly known by the nicknames "Bata" (Tagalog for 'Kid') and "the Magician", is a Filipino professional pool player, who is widely regarded as the greatest pool player of all time, and especially famed for his skill at the challenging one-pocket discipline. In 2003, he was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame. A winner of over 100 professional tournaments, Reyes was the first player to win the WPA World Championships in two different pool disciplines. Among his numerous titles, Reyes is a WPA World Nine-ball Champion and WPA World Eight-ball Champion, a U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship winner, a four-time Sands Regency Nine-ball Open winner, a four-time All Japan Championship winner, a seven-time WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour Champion, and a record thirteen-time Derby City Classic winner. Reyes also represented the Philippines at the World Cup of Pool, winning the event with his partner Francisco Bustamante in 2006 and 2009. Reyes defeated American champion Earl Strickland twice in The Color of Money challenge match in 1996 and a rematch in 2001. In their first challenge match in 1996, Reyes took home the winner-take-all prize of $100,000, the highest single-event purse in the history of pool at that time. Reyes is nicknamed "the Magician", for his ability on the pool table, and "Bata", to distinguish him from an older fellow pool player by the same name. In addition to pool, Reyes has played international carom billiards, specifically balkline, one-cushion, and three-cushion.

Photo of Miguel White

2. Miguel White (1909 - 1942)

With an HPI of 39.33, Miguel White is the 2nd most famous Filipino Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Miguel Solano White (October 9, 1909 – August 30, 1942) was a Filipino track and field athlete of Filipino-American descent who competed for the Philippines in the 400 metre hurdles at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany, winning a bronze medal in the process. White was from Legazpi, Albay. He was killed in military action during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. At the time of his death, White was a lieutenant assigned to the 51st Division. Before World War II, White was a Philippine scout.

Photo of José Villanueva

3. José Villanueva (1913 - 1983)

With an HPI of 33.75, José Villanueva is the 3rd most famous Filipino Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

José Luis "Cely" Villanueva (March 19, 1913 – November 11, 1983) was an amateur boxer from the Philippines who represented his country at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Born in Binondo, Manila, he won the bronze medal in the bantamweight class after winning the fight for third place against Joseph Lang. His son, Anthony Villanueva, also became a boxer, and won a silver medal during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Photo of Lydia de Vega

4. Lydia de Vega (1964 - 2022)

With an HPI of 32.13, Lydia de Vega is the 4th most famous Filipino Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Maria Lydia de Vega-Mercado (Tagalog: [lɪdiˈjɐ dɛ ˈbɛga mɛɾˈkadɔ]; December 26, 1964 – August 10, 2022) was a Filipina athlete who was considered Asia's fastest woman in the 1980s.

Photo of Hidilyn Diaz

5. Hidilyn Diaz (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 28.63, Hidilyn Diaz is the 5th most famous Filipino Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Hidilyn Francisco Diaz-Naranjo (Tagalog: [haɪdiˈlin ˈdias naˈɾanho]; born February 20, 1991) is a Filipino weightlifter and airwoman. She holds two Olympic records in weightlifting for her performance at the women's 55 kg category for weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In her early weightlifting years, she was a bronze medalist in the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand and achieved 10th place at the 2006 Asian Games in the 53-kilogram class. While she was a student and representing Universidad de Zamboanga, she won two golds and one silver in the Asian Youth/Junior Weightlifting Championship held in Jeonju, South Korea. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she was the youngest competitor in the women's 58-kg category. In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Diaz won the silver medal in the women's 53-kg weight division, the first Filipino to win a medal in a non-boxing event since 1936 and ending the Philippines' 20-year Olympic medal drought. On July 26, 2021, at the 2020 Summer Olympics for the women's 55 kg category for weightlifting, Diaz won the gold medal for the Philippines, becoming the first Filipino to ever win an Olympic gold medal. She also set Olympic records for the 55 kg division in the clean and jerk at 127 kg and in the total at 224 kg.

Photo of EJ Obiena

6. EJ Obiena (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 22.81, EJ Obiena is the 6th most famous Filipino Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Ernest John Uy Obiena (born November 17, 1995) is a Filipino pole vaulter. He is currently ranked world No. 3 in men's pole vault by the 2024 World Athletics Rankings. Obiena currently holds the Asian record with his clearance of 6.00 meters at the 2023 World Athletics Championships where he won the silver medal. He also holds the Philippine national record with a clearance of 5.93 meters at the Golden Rooftop Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria on September 11, 2021. Obiena is the current champion and record holder (5.90 m) of the Asian Games. He is also the two-time defending champion and current record holder (5.91 m) in the Asian Athletics Championships and three-time defending champion and current record holder (5.65 m) in the SEA Games. He also won the gold medal in the 2019 Summer Universiade held in Naples, Italy and has competed in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. Obiena is the first Filipino to receive a scholarship from the International Athletic Association Federation (IAAF).

Photo of Roel Velasco

7. Roel Velasco (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 21.95, Roel Velasco is the 7th most famous Filipino Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Roel Velasco (born June 26, 1972, in Bago, Negros Occidental) is a retired boxer from the Philippines. He competed in the light flyweight (– 48 kg) division during the late 1980s, early 1990s. He represented his native country of the Philippines at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he won the bronze medal. In the semi-finals he was stopped by Cuba's eventual winner Rogelio Marcelo. He is the elder brother of Mansueto Velasco, who won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in the same weight division. Roel won the silver medal at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships. Roel Velasco is the only Filipino to win a medal in the Goodwill Games by snatching the bronze in the light-flyweight division in boxing in the 1998 New York edition. 1997 was a banner year for Velasco as he added the gold medals in the 1st Muhamad Ali Invitational Boxing Championships in Kentucky, the Italian Boxing Championships and the Roberto Balado Cup in Cuba to his World Championship hardware. Velasco is currently serving with the Philippine Navy with the rank of Petty Officer First Class (P01) while doing double duty as a coach with the Philippine Boxing Team. As a trainer, he is known for his way of selecting his pupils. As he welcomes anyone who wants to learn from him. He is also known to have an interest in training inexperienced or slow learners stating that: "Kahit na anong hina ng isang boxer basta masipag sa training, siya ay gagaling na pwede pang higitan ang isang boxer na may talento." ("Even if a boxer is slow learner, he/she can grow into a strong fighter as long as he/she is dedicated to his/her training and can even surpass the strength of a talented boxer.")

Photo of Cris Nievarez

8. Cris Nievarez (b. 2000)

With an HPI of 0.00, Cris Nievarez is the 8th most famous Filipino Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Cris Marasigan Nievarez (born April 4, 2000) is a Filipino rower who competes for the Philippines in international rowing competition. He has qualified to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Photo of Iván González

9. Iván González (b. )

With an HPI of 0.00, Iván González is the 9th most famous Filipino Athlete.  Their biography has been translated into different languages.

Iván González may refer to: Iván Darío González (born 1987), Colombian middle and long-distance runner Iván González (footballer, born 1987) (born 1987), Paraguayan footballer Iván González (canoeist) (born 1964), Spanish canoeist Iván González (footballer, born 1988) (born 1988), Spanish footballer Iván Hernández González, Puerto Rican politician Ivan Gonzalez (comedian), member of British comedy duo Max and Ivan

Photo of Wang Zheng

10. Wang Zheng (b. )

With an HPI of 0.00, Wang Zheng is the 10th most famous Filipino Athlete.  Their biography has been translated into different languages.

Wang Zheng may refer to: Wang Zheng (singer) (born 1985), female Chinese pop singer Wang Zheng (hammer thrower) (born 1987), female Chinese hammer thrower Wang Zheng (sport shooter) (born 1979), male Chinese sport shooter Wang Zheng (newsreader), (born 1979), female Chinese newsreader Wang Zheng (pilot) (born 1972), the first Chinese pilot to fly solo around the world Wang Zheng (born 1959), a vice admiral of the People's Liberation Army Navy.

People

Pantheon has 21 people classified as Filipino athletes born between 1909 and 2004. Of these 21, 18 (85.71%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Filipino athletes include Efren Reyes, Hidilyn Diaz, and EJ Obiena. The most famous deceased Filipino athletes include Miguel White, José Villanueva, and Lydia de Vega. As of April 2024, 16 new Filipino athletes have been added to Pantheon including Lydia de Vega, EJ Obiena, and Cris Nievarez.

Living Filipino Athletes

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Deceased Filipino Athletes

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Newly Added Filipino Athletes (2024)

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