Nancy Navalta
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Home town | Pangasinan |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event(s) | 100m, 200m |
| Retired | 1996 |
Nancy Navalta is a Filipino retired track and field athlete and coach. She is known for being a prospect of the national team for her feats in the Palarong Pambansa in the 1990s. Her career ended in 1996, after she was found out to be intersex.
Early life and education
[edit]Hailing from the province of Luna, La Union,[1] Navalta was born intersex, was assigned female at birth and was raised as a girl.[2][3] Navalta is the eldest among six children. She was originally into volleyball, playing the sport in fourth grade but shifted to athletics after beating one of the best runners in her town.[4]
She helped her family in their livelihood by carrying rocks which she later attributes as the cause for her physique in the absence of prior formal training as a competitive athlete.[5]
Navalta studied at the Coseca Colleges in San Fernando, La Union and pursued a degree in criminology[6]
Career
[edit]Navalta started her sporting career at age 18. She started competing at the Palarong Pambansa, the national games for student-athletes in the Philippines, in 1991. In that edition held in Iloilo, Navalta failed to win an event.[5] She featured in the next editions of the student games as well as the inaugural Philippine National Games (PNG) in 1994.[6][2]She won the 100-m dash event in the first PNG.[1]
She began to set records but question on her gender began to arise due to her having a "flat chest, muscled physique, and a wispy mustache".[5] Her feats made her a prospect for the national team and the "next Lydia de Vega".[2] She had her sex was verified in late 1994,[1] and a second one in March 1995.[6] The results of the more recent test was never disclosed to the public to officials.[7]
The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) bared Navalta from competing in the women's division from any local and international tournaments in the lead up to the 1996 Palarong Pambansa in Soccsksargen.[8] Majority of the 15 regions at the time threaten a boycott if Navalta would be allowed to do so.[9] Ilocos coach failed to convince her to compete in the men's division.[10] She also attempted to join in the PNG of that year.[11]
She was named part of the Philippines' delegation for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta after attaining a qualifying time. However her career ended after she learned about her intersex condition in 1996.[2][12]
Post-retirement
[edit]With the help of the Samson family, who owns the University of Luzon Navalta finished her criminology studies in the institution.[1] By the early 2000s, she was already a coach based in La Union and Pangasinan.[12][13][14]
In popular culture
[edit]Navalta's biography has been a subject of an episode of ABS-CBN's Maalaala Mo Kaya released in 2004.[15] In 2011, her life was featured in the documentary program Tunay na Buhay in GMA Network.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Castillejo, Dyan (January 12, 1995). "Nancy's day". Manila Standard. p. 23. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Gender Bender in Philippine Track". AP News. Associated Press. March 7, 1996. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "A Gender Bender in the Philippines". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ Gomez, Maria Congee. "Still on track, Despite the heartaches". Sunday Inquirer Magazine. Philippine Daily Inquirer. p. Q4. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
- ^ a b c Miranda, Romar (August 29, 2019). "Pisikal na anyo, naging hadlang kay Nancy Navalta sa sports" [Physical appearance was an obstacle for Nancy Navalta in sports]. Palawan News (in Filipino). Oasis Media Group Corp. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Patafa seeks 2nd opinion on Navalta". Manila Standard. March 9, 1995. p. 25. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
- ^ https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=a5213898747d5e1c8566abc358c8dcb4&mediatype=video
- ^ "Navalta issue deepens". Manila Standard. March 9, 1996. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
- ^ Cardona, Aldrin (April 3, 1996). "In wake of ban on Navalta: Palaro boycott looms". Manila Standard. p. 20B. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
- ^ "You and me against the world for Nancy, friend". Manila Standard. August 18, 1996. p. 24. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
- ^ Cardema, Aldrin (May 10, 1996). "Navalta, Bunevacz join Nat'l Games". Manila Standard. p. 20. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
- ^ a b De Guzman, Nicai (September 4, 2018). "Remembering Mona Sulaiman and Nancy Navalta, in the Wake of the Aprilia Manganang Controversy". Esquire. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Cimatu, Frank (April 16, 2018). "Top 10 Ilocano athletes in history". Rappler. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Caluag, Randy (October 27, 2000). "Nancy Navalta resurfaces". Manila Standard. p. A7. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
- ^ "Nancy Navalta story on MMK". The Philippine Star. March 25, 2004. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "Gino Antonio and Nancy Navalta". GMA News. March 2, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2023.