Salvador del Rosario

Salvador Romualdo del Rosario (born October 24, 1944), nicknamed, The Mighty Mite, is a Filipino weightlifter who competed at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics with a best finish of ninth in 1972 and 1976.

Del Rosario began serious training in competitive weightlifting in January under the expert guidance of his uncle, Rodrigo del Rosario.

The older Del Rosario was responsible for the Philippines only points in the XIV Olympic Games held at London in 1948 and duplicated the same feat at the Helsinki Olympiad in 1952 together with teammate Pedro Landero.

He was entered in the flyweight class, after his last lift and scores were computed, the Meet officials credited him with a respectable total of 580 pounds which earned him 3rd place honor.

A feat that was remarkable at that time despite the fact that he tried to break a Philippine record though in futility.

A month before he celebrated his 20th birthday, his team participated in the National Teenage Tourney at Batangas.

He bested two other contenders for the flyweight class wherein the total poundage was recorded at 595 pounds.

With roughly five months of preparation behind him, Salvador took part in his first competition in the National Junior Weightlifting Championships held at the Rizal Open Arena on June 30, 1963 along with 19 other budding strong men.

Competing under the colors of Far Eastern University and weighing only 106.25 lbs., he cut the flyweight diadem with a compilation of 455 lbs.

which was more than a hundred and fifty pounds below the Philippine National Record.

He was at the time only 18 years old and his auspicious debut delighted local weightlifting circles.

One month later, he was pitted against the best lifters of Luzon in the Regional Meet held at Baguio City.

He exceeded his lift performance in the Junior Tournament by fifteen pounds but this was only good for the 6th place - in a field of 6 flyweight lifters.

Instead of being discouraged, Del Rosario burned more calories in his workouts in a determined effort to keep up and eventually surpassed the leaders in his class.

Later, in a special tryout, he qualified for the 1963 National "Open" Meet to be held at Cebu City.

For the National Championships at the Aznar Coliseum in Cebu where all of the nation's strongest athletes converged, the FEU team coach found out that Salvador's chances in the flyweight category were very slim.

So a last-minute decision was made to increase his body weight and compete in the next higher class - the Bantam, where there would be less competition.

The decision paid off when Salvador earned 3rd place and was awarded a trophy for the first time.

After the 1963 National Tournament, while most of his colleagues just took it easy, Salvador plugged on harder and harder.

He bypassed the Regional Meet held in Dagupan City in April 1964 and instead focused all his effort on the National Open slated in August.

In another six weeks, he was given the task of representing Far Eastern University in the 1965 National Student Meet.

This time he broke the 500 lbs barrier by registering a total of 515 lbs.

a good fifty pounds over his record in his maiden appearance.

However, he was still sixty pounds behind teammate, Arcadio Lacsamana, the winner.

During the 1965 Luzon Regional Meet at Olongapo, Zambales, del Rosario for the first time officially broke the 600 pound weightlifting barrier when he made 605 lbs to earn the silver medal.

However, he did edge out highly favored Godofredo Canlas, a several time National Champion, a record holder and the Philippine Representative to the 111 Asian Games at Tokyo, Japan.

For the National Championships at Bacolod City, del Rosario clinched his first national crown - the flyweight weightlifting title while breaking a national record.

His 226 lbs.

lift exceeded the former mark by 6-1/2 lbs.

In addition, he earned the right to represent the Philippines in the 1965 World and Asia Meet that was held in Tehran, Iran.

At his international tournament debut, under the guidance of his uncle who acted as his coach, del Rosario earned runner up honors in the Asian portion of the championships, the best performance so far for any Filipino flyweight weightlifter.

The winner in his class, Chaiya Sushida of Thailand, was considered the unofficial world champion.

In addition to these honors, del Rosario was chosen by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) as the Weightlifter of the Year.

With this esteemed honor he received the prestigious (PSA) plaque.

In summary, for 1965, the competitions he joined, records established, and awards received are as follows:

In a remarkable year for the Philippine Sports, del Rosario established an unofficial world record of 273 lbs that paved the way for winning his second National Open Title.

He represented the Philippines in the 4th Asian Games at Bangkok, Thailand.

Despite his breaking a national record in this game, he landed 4th place due to a costly technical issue raised.

However, he was once again awarded the PSA's Weightlifter of the Year.

For 1966, the competitions he joined, record established, and awards received are as follows: