Ilonggo one-legged triathlete joins Pinoy Big Brother
One-legged triathlete Rudy Fernandez
and his coach Raffy Uytiepo during the
Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.
Iloilo City's legendary one-legged triathlete Rudy Fernandez is one of the fourteen select housemates in the newly launched Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition, a reality show on ABS-CBN.
Fernandez, 59, thus joins sexy stars Aleck Bovick and Keana Reeves, actor Rustom Padilla, young actor John Pratts, models Christian Vasquez and Zanjoe Marudo, Waray singer Budoy Maraviles, TV personalities Angela Calina and Bianca Gonzales, radio DJ Chico Robles, fashion designer Mich Dulce, singer Roxanne Barcelo, and karatedo champ Gretchen Malalad.
Fernandez, an HRD clerk at the Western Institute of Technology (WIT) was a former national record holder in the 1,600 meters who won a silver medal in the 1972 Pesta Sukan Games in Singapore.
Fernandez lost his right leg from above the knee during a grenade blast in an Iloilo movie house in 1979. In 1986 he staged a 104-kilometer fund-raising run from Sara town to Iloilo City in six days, raising over P60,000 for the disabled of Iloilo City.
In 1996, he received a Hero for Heroes award from Reader's Digest when he swam the 28-mile Guimaras-Bacolod strait in 8 hours. He also cycled 240 kilometers from Iloilo City to Camp Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz to raise funds for the widows and orphans of Ilonggo army men killed in the Mindanao conflict in 2000.
Fernandez has also participated in numerous local and international events including the Cebu Timex International Triathlon, Subic International Triathlon, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and the recent Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.
National race organizer and Fernandez' coach Raffy Uytiepo is urging his fellow Ilonggos to support Rudy's bid in the PBB. "Aton gid ini," said Uytiepo.
Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition airs nightly on ABS-CBN after Mga Anghel na Walang Langit.