16 August 2007

Daniel Coakley's Dive

Great Dive! Took this shot during warm-ups in the World Champs. The only Filipino to reach the semis--Daniel. Really cool guy, talented, very nice and humble.

26 comments:

aloha said...

Great shot! People have tried to capture Daniel's signature dive, but this is the best I've seen. He learned the basic dive from the great Matt Biondi, then went on to develop his own style of diving.

Great Photography!

Aloha

Tan Man said...

Yeah I agree that He has this distinct style in diving but sometimes he lift his head up too much and then bend his body into a pike position which we don't teach anymore because we want swimmers to dive aiming forward not dive aiming up and going down from a pike.

Alex D.R. Castro said...

Now he's got a SEA Games gold in the 50 m. freestyle! His grandfather, the 1932 bronze Olympian breastsroker Teodoro Yldefonso, must be very proud of him!

Tan Man said...

Is this true? Daniel's grandfather is a swimmer as well?
Wow! I didn't know that! thanks for posting! haha! He did a good job on breaking that record as well!

aloha said...

I've been trying to figure out how to dispel that rumor about Teofilo Yldefonso... who do I contact? Well, it may as well be here.

I am Daniel's mom.
My husband comes from a family of water people: swimmers, divers, fishermen. When Daniel took to swimming, my husband's family naturally claimed it was their side of the family that he took after as absolutely none of my family swim.

When I was researching some Filipino history, I came across Teofilo Yldefonso, an Olympic bronze medalist. So I told this person (not from PHI)that now I joke with my husband that Daniel's talent comes from the Filipino genes as my father's grandmother was Anacita Yldefonso (originally from the Ilocos Norte-Ilocos Sur district, then they settled in Camiling Tarlac).

A silly statement evolved into Daniel being directly related to Teofilo Yldefonso as his grandnephew, then as his grandson to his great-grandson. I am so embarrassed and apologize to the surviving family if I have offended them, as they are the rightful heirs to the great Teofilo Yldefonso's legacy.

Daniel questioned me about this because people have asked him and he doesn't know what's going on. I tell him that he has the Yldefonso blood and genes, so when he swims for his ancestors, he's swimming for the Yldefonso name too.

My father left PI for Hawaii in 1924. He married my mother who is part Hawaiian. I am not from the Philippines as I have read. So Daniel is 1/4 Filipino.

Anyway, I just wanted to clear those things up. Forgive me, I mean no offense.

Aloha

mimiluc said...

hello...
i just want to clarify--- so Daniel is really not related to Teofilo Yldefonso? as in, no relation at all?

cos I was reading the newspaper (Philippine Daily Inquirer Dec11, 2007 issue) and it was mentioned that he's the great-grandson of Teofilo Yldefonso. I got intrigued by the article and i actually wanted to get in touch with Daniel.

I'm mimi Lucas, i'm also a member of the Philippine team, but for Triathlon. i also won in the SEA games, although i just got 3rd place, (http://mimiloo.multiply.com/photos/album/16) not like daniel (congrats!). i'm actually related to Teofilo Yldefonso, he's really my great-grandfather. So when i read the article mentioning that Teofilo's great-grandson won in the SEA games, i was like...cool. The Yldefonso genes is a dominant trait in this generation.

funny cos i got back in the philippines the day after my race, and just this afternoon, i went to my University (University of the Philippines), where i'm part of the swim team. and i heard people talking about a "daniel" named swimmer and they were discussing his win in the SEA games. but i was actually clueless of who he was until i read the newspaper after i got back home.

anyway, whether we're related or not, i wanna say congrats again to Daniel. GO team Philippines!!!

Tan Man said...

I'm very very sorry for this confusion going on around about Daniel related to the bronze medalist Yldefonso, but like I've said I was surprise to hear it from people here and seeing it in print in the papers... I guess for all goodness sake, Daniel did very well for his country and team. and we are all very proud.

Maybe we can clear this thru Coach Mark Joseph (PASA president) or maybe he can help us clear this information in the media. I'll try to email him about this correspondence and comments.

Thank you again for posting

Alex D.R. Castro said...

Well, Teofilo Yldefonso (sorry I quoted his name wrong the 1st time I posted) is from Ilocos! He died during the last war. There is, in fact a statue of him in his hometown. So there may be a genealogical connection with Anacita Yldefonso. Mrs. Coakley--congratulations too for Danile's feat. A new SEA Games record. Wow! The papers reported today that had he competed in the Sydney Olympics, he would have made it in the 50 m. finals. He would have placed 8th from among the world's best. Awesome!

aloha said...

I don't think Mark Joseph had anything to do with this mixup.
I just don't want to offend Teofilo's family. But what an honor to be related to Teofilo!

Thank you, Mimi, for your input and support. I'm glad that the real grandchild of Teofilio is proud of Daniel.

In Hawaii throughout the 1920's-1950's, the first Eugenio men sought others with the same surname on each island to find some connection. They traced their family histories and found that their father or grandfathers all originated from Ilocos Norte in the 1800's, and even found common relatives.

So the distant cousins became their family support in a foreign country. They were all bound by a common name, which each of their fathers had taught them meant "good genes". Til today, we consider ourselves close blood relatives. We have the same genes.

The first time Daniel was in the PHI, he defined his reason for swimming: He didn't come for medals or prizes; he came to swim for his ancestors, his Hawaiian and Filipino ancestors.

Although there is no proof of direct lineage to Teofilo (and I hope somebody can help us with genealogy here), we have the Yldefonso gene and we are proud of Teofilo's accomplishments.

[Thank you, Alex for the research and connection of Teofilo to Ilocos. I just read your blog before I was about to send this.]

Mimi, you're on the PHI team too! The Yldefonso gene is a dominant trait in this generation. I still think that it's the Yldefonso gene that Daniel got his talent from.

We need to keep in touch. Somebody will be working on a website for Daniel, so we will let you know when it's up and running.

Aloha

aloha said...

Mimi, Alex, Tan Man,

Thanks for your support and kudos which I really don't deserve because I can't even swim!

Went to your website, Mimi. Nice pix! Now I have a face to relate to. Check out Daniel on youtube.com. Search for "Student Highlight, Daniel"

Tan Man said...

I just watched Daniel's interview on youtube "student highlight, daniel" and I have to say It was inspiring to watch!

I will post it in my team's website for other swimmers here in the philippines can view it as well.

Thank you very much Mrs. Coackley

Tan Man said...

oh and Merry Christmas to Mr. Jeffrey Coakley, Keivi and the whole family! I met them in Rio de Janeiro. regards to them!

Danny R said...

You can see more photos of Daniel at RPSports.com http://www.ubelt.com/photos/search.aspx?gid=688

Danny R said...

Aloha,

You can email me at danny at ubelt.com about the confusion. We can write something to clear the mix-up.

I work for RPSports.com and we are covering the SEA Games in Thailand.

Do you happen to be in Thailand too?

mimiluc said...

to Aloha,

hehe I saw that video before i posted my first comment. it was kinda funny actually.

daniel's in the newspaper again, in Phil. Daily inquirer Dec12,2007. Front page!

anyway, I just wanna say that I'm becoming his fan, and somehow I want him to really be related to Teofilo. (hehe so i can say that in some way, we're related too! haha)

my grandma is actually asking her relatives and friends in ilocos if they knew or heard of an anacita yldenfonso who's related to teofilo.

congratulations again to daniel, and merry christmas!

Anonymous said...

Hello Mrs Coakley, congratulations on your sons efforts this past week, I had the pleasure of coaching Daniel at the Games.
You had better contact Coach Pinky and Mark, they have been spreading that using that information when ever a journalist asks about Daniel.

Can you contact me through Mark Joseph.

Cheers
Coach Andy

I

aloha said...

Mimi,
Anacita Yldefonso was born around 1850 and married Francisco Eugenio, a Spaniard, who became an officer in the Spanish army. From info from my father and his cousin, Anacita and Franciso originated in Ilocos Norte then moved to Candon, Ilocos Sur, then the Spanish government granted them lands in Tarlac.

If your family can trace back to that time, then that would be great. My degree is in biology and I know that the DNA is the thread that runs through families through generations of time.

No matter how diluted, we still have the Yldefonso blood, we have the Yldefonso DNA and genes, and Daniel has that Yldefonso talent.

There must be a connection somehow.

Coach Andy...
Thanks for coaching Daniel. I know he appreciates the different coaches and their various methods.

I should've cleared up the Teofilo thing sooner. It is my fault that a little statement that I joked about got to be a big thing and now I'm trying to correct it, and it now will be embarrassing Mark and Coach Pinky.

And you know how when the story is told so many times... from Daniel's grandfather's grandmother being and Yldefonso to being the grandson of Teofilo Yldefonso.

For me... I'm 1/2 Filipino to hailing from the Philippines to being an immigrant... I'm born and raised in Hawaii!

Tan Man said...

Coach Andy! wow I'm surprise to see your name in here. how on earth did you get the link to this blog post?

anyway, Congratulations on the recent SEA Games. We're very proud of everyone there!

please visit also my team's blog/website.
www.qcscbuccaneersswim.blogspot.com

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Hi Tan Man, there was not much to do in the athlete village, and we arrived at the airport 5 hours early, still not sure why. All this allowed for lots of swim related surfing. I was looking for news articles written on the SEA Games swimmers, that is how I found your site.
Check out this site. http://www.flocasts.org/floswimming/index.php

I had a look through your photos, excellent by the way. And the buccaneers website both was also very good. I think websites are great for swim teams, especially when there is lots of results, tips, and information on future meets and events, especially when it kept up to date. It helps to keep your swimming parents and kids coming back for more.

Tan Man said...

Hi Coach Andy!

Thank you very much for your reply!
I'm not sure if you remember me,
we met a couple of times at Los Banos, Trace
and in the Coach Klien seminar.
I work with coach Archie Lim.

Anyway, I agree on the advantages of having a website for the swimming team, it really makes the swimmer look for updates and news... makes them keep on coming for more info, insights, comments on training, activities, etc.

Kids now, they love taking photos as well...
its convenient for them, everyone has a digital camera. and they love having something on the internet to show and share to their friends and family.

I actually just started the blog for my team, and
I think the swimmers liked that we have our own site.

Anyway, thanks again. and hope to see you soon!
Happy Holidays!

aloha said...

Mimi,

Is that Ryan Arabejo in your photo album?

How can I get in touch with you?

Aloha

mimiluc said...

aloha...

ummm, in my multiply site? yeah... he was my prom date... haha.

my email add is cowabunga922@yahoo.com :)

Jerick said...

hi tanman! first of all, i think you have such an amazing blog! i visited this blog for the purpose of looking for photographs of daniel coakley and teofilo yldefonso and who would have thought that they're actually lolo and apo!

let me read through the rest of your blog later on!

Anonymous said...

ho brah howzit,
this is daniel's brother.... not really though, hah but were pretty close, it so cool to see someone i know go to the olympics, oh well i just wanted to leave a comment on Kailikoas success,

Aloha,
Haole boy

Tan Man said...

Thanks for your comment! Haole boy!
I can't wait to see daniel on TV for the olympics! I bet he'll do well! anyway, take care!~

tisoy21 said...

mimiluc,
How are you related to Teofilo ?