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Olivia Bong Coo

Olivia "Bong" Coo is a Filipino tenpin bowling athlete. She is a 4-time World Champion, distinguished with a record five gold medals (by a Filipino athlete) in the Asian Games, and was the first Filipino athlete listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. She is the only bowling athlete who has won the All Events titles in regional level, Asian Zone level and world level championships in major quadrennial and biennial bowling competitions as well as owned the All Events records on those tournaments at one time in 1986. The world's premier amateur event the Quadrennial World Championships (Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs), consecutive in 1979 and 1983 Quadrennial Asian Games, consecutive in 1978 and 1986 Biennial Zone Championships (Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs), 14 years apart 1972 and 1986 Biennial South East Asian Games, consecutive in 1981 and 1983 Bong Coo also won the Bowling World Cup (1979), Asian Games Singles and Masters (1978), the FIQ Zone Championships Masters (twice, 20 years apart 1972 and 1992), the FIQ Zone Championships Singles (twice 1978 and 1984) and the South East Asian Games Masters (1981). She also won the most gold medals in the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) Zone Championships with 14 in 12 consecutive tournament participation and was the first enshrined in the International Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis Missouri in 1993 (The Hall of Fame and Museum relocated to Arlington, Texas in 2010). Her Zone Masters titles were acknowledged by the World Bowling Writers Hall of Fame Committee equivalent to world medals. To this day she still holds the most gold medals won in the FIQ Zone Championships in one celebration with 5 gold medals in 6 events. Her career with the national team has earned for Philippines 78 medals broken down to 37 gold, 23 silver and 18 bronze, and won a total of 135 championship titles with at least one Masters title for 28 consecutive years. She is the most bemedalled Filipino athlete per Philippine Republic Act 9064 "Athletes Incentives Act of 2001". In 2000, she was voted one of the Philippines Athlete of the Millennium and was awarded an Achievement Diploma by the International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch'>Juan Antonio Samaranch in recognition of her outstanding contribution in promoting the development and participation of women and girls in sports. She was also named one of the Ten Outstanding Women for the Nations Service (TOWNS) in 1986. The TOWNS award is conferred every three years by the TOWNS Foundation on Filipino women who have rendered outstanding service to the nation. Retired from active competition, she teaches Sport Bowling since 2002 under the Department of Human Kinetics at the University of the Philippines and Colegio de San Juan de Letran. Bong Coo was elected Secretary General of the Philippine Bowling Congress in January 2007. She ran unopposed for her second term in 2009.