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.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Home town | Pangasinan |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event(s) | 100m, 200m |
| Retired | 1996 |
Early life
editHailing from the province of Pangasinan,[1] Navalta was born intersex, was assigned female at birth and was raised as a girl.[2][3] 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.[1]
Career
editNavalta 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. From 1992 to 1994, 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".[1] Her feats made her a prospect for the national team and the "next Lydia de Vega".[2]
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][4]
Post-retirement
editNavalta would obtain a degree in criminology at the University of Luzon. She would later become a coach based in La Union and Pangasinan.[4][5]
In popular culture
editNavalta's biography has been a subject of an episode of ABS-CBN's Maalaala Mo Kaya released in 2004.[6] In 2011, her life was featured in the documentary program Tunay na Buhay in GMA Network.[7]
References
edit- ^ 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 "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.