“Why not in the streets,” dared Manuel Carmelo, the other half of the Carmelo brothers that dominated running in the early ‘80s.
It was Manuel’s dare to his Gintong Alay teammates in the early ‘80s when he was part of what could be the country’s most successful sports program that brought to prominence track queen Lydia de Vega, as well as Hector Begeo and the Carmelo brothers, to name a few.
The younger Carmelo in fact ruled the streets or longer distances while brother David was a monster in the track, including a Noah Lyles-like victory in the 1983 Southeast Asian Games 10,000-meter run finals in Manila over fellow Baguio boy Arturo Alimbuyao.
It was a tough decision for a panel of judges that included University of Baguio founder Fernando Bautista, Sr., who eventually decided in favor of the older Carmelo for the top podium, relegating Alimbuyao as a bridesmaid. To that, Alimbuyao calmly said, “it is alright as long as a Baguio runner won.”
But back to Manuel, who is three years David’s junior, a true-blue “batang kalye” of the ‘70s Baguio. His running has brought him all over the country, to Japan, and eventually to the United States where he settled after the EDSA Revolution of 1986 that ousted Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. from office.
The enlisted Philippine Constabulary corporal needed to make a living after what appeared to be an end to his running career, with Philippine sports in shambles and the Gintong Alay program literally in an “off with its head” situation.
Manuel’s feats on the road is a list that could fill pages. Manuel was enrolled at the Baguio City High School before he caught the attention of the Bautista patriarch.
“So I had to move to UB and finish my high school there,” recalled Manuel where he met future teammate Eduardo Laureano and proud members of UB High School class of 1976.
Now 65, Manuel won in 10Ks, 16Ks, half marathons, and 42K runs. He also earned a slot to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 but was marooned in favor of another athlete.
“I was qualified but never given the ticket to LA,” recalled Manuel, of what was supposed to be the biggest run of his life exactly 40 years ago.
But Manuel would eventually win the race of his life — setting up a future that allowed him to enjoy a luxurious life.
“I have enough now to enjoy my remaining years. I could even help friends now,” said Manuel, after building a large house at San Luis here in Baguio.
The former newsboy has, indeed, gone a long way, from hawking newspapers as a boy to earn a few pesos, with the same newspapers he sold carrying his stories during his glory days as a top runner.
Manuel and his brother David have been inducted to the Heroes Wall of Fame at the Baguio Athletic Bowl along with ten of their Gintong Alay contemporaries.
