446. Angeles’s Kick-Ass Olympic Taekwondo Jin: DONALD B. GEISLER III

KICK & SHOUT: Donnie Geisler, Taekwondo Jin from Angeles
Image: www.pinoybigbrother.com

Taekwondo was just an exhibition sports at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and the token delegation of jins sent to compete did surprisingly well—with Bea Lucero and Stephen Fernandez winning a pair of Bronzes. When the Korean martial arts discipline became an official Olympic sport in 2000, a Kapampangan jin from Angeles not only made it as a member of the 4-man taekwondo team, but also marched proudly at the head of the Philippine delegation at the Stadium Australia as the country’s flag bearer.

Donald “Donnie” David Geisler III (b. 6 Oct.1978) , at 21 years old, and 6 ft. tall had come to the Olympics arena armed with sterling national and international sporting credentials. The son of German-American Donald David Geisler, and Filipina Gracia Bayonito of Bicol, he grew up in Angeles, where his father, a former army colonel who served in Clark, opted to settle down to raise his family.

At age 7, Donnie  took up a course in taekwondo offered by his elementary school.  Mentored by a Korean trainer who taught Americans in Clark, the young Geisler was a naturally-gifted athlete, and soon became skilled in the sport. Later, he would practice regularly in a taekwondo school put up by his uncle in Pulungbulu. He seriously took up further training, and joined taekwondo tournaments along the way, even while coursing through Chevalier high school and later, in college, where he made it to the school's pioneer taekwondo varsity team.

By the mid-1980s through the early 1990s,  athletes like Monsour del Rosario, Arnold Baradi and Roberto Cruz helped  promote the popularity of the sport, through their podium victories at the Asian Games, World Taekwondo Championships and the SEA Games. 

In 1996, at age 18, Donnie was sent to Barcelona, Spain to compete in the very first World Junior Taekwondo Championships. The lanky jin pulled in a surprise by winning a historic Bronze medal. Two years later, he won a pair of Silvers---first in Asia’s premiere sporting event—the Asian Games in Bangkok, and at the 1998 World Cup Taekwondo Championships in Germany.

He would win the first of three Southeast Asian Games Gold, in Brunei Darussalam in 1999. At the star of a new millennium  he won a Silver in his weight class at  the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Hong Kong. In between, he managed to finish his Arts and Letter degree in Legal Management  from the University of Santo Tomas in 1999.

With such solid accomplishments, Donnie was expected to spearhead the debut campaign of the small Philippine team and do well in Sydney. He was entered in the Individual events (Men’s Welterweight 80 kg. class). In a tightly-contested first round match against Sweden’s Roman Livaja, both jins scored 4-4, but based on superiority, the Swede prevailed.

But Donnie’s Olympic dream did not end in Sydney. He would qualify again as one of 3 Filipino jins in the next 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece—where the hallowed Games began. This time, he faced the formidable Turk, Bahri Tanrıkulu, whose sister was an Olympian medallist. Geisler made a good account of himself, and fought like a pro. But like what happened in Sydney, the match ended in a tie—9-9, and once again, based on superiority, the Turk was declared winner (he would advance to the finals to win Silver). 

As the best-scoring non-winner, Donnie was called for a repechage—for a final chance to advance to the next round. His opponent was Hichem Al-Hamdouni from Tunisia. Bad luck hounded Donnie when, in the course of the fight, he dislocated  his ankle and suffered a double tendon injury, thus putting him out of contention and ending his quest for Olympic glory.

His post-Olympics career continued in the next few years with better results. In 2001, he was at the 21st Southeast Asian Games, where he won a Silver medal. In the succeeding editions in Vietnam (2003), and the Philippines (2005), he proved his superiority in the region by winning 2 Golds in a row.  At the 2002 15^th Asian Taekwondo Championships in Jordan, he added a Bronze medal to his collection. His last competition was at the 2007 FAJR Cup in Iran, where he had another Bronze finish. 

Believing that  “all work, and no play” makes for a dull life, Donnie jumped into the showbiz bandwagon and joined the Celebrity Edition of the hugely-followed Pinoy Big Brother  TV reality show in 2007, along with his actor-brother, Baron Geisler. For the next  50 days, Donnie gamely joined in the fray, accomplishing strange tasks, making strategic alliances with fellow PBB members and surviving eliminations.

Unfortunately, on the 56^th day, Donnie got evicted from the PBB house, concluding his brief showbiz fling.  But he stayed long enough to meet Jen da Silva who would become his wife and mother of his daughter, Frankie.  The young father also has a son, Robbie, from a previous relationship.

Donnie continued his love for the sport by founding the Donnie Geisler Taekwondo Training Center in 2009 which coaches and teaches children of all ages—including those with special needs. The center has a branch in Sindalan, San Fernando.

The national athlete, who is also a licensed taekwondo instructor and international referee, is also a respected coach. He was a former coach of the Philippine National Team, and currently is the Head Coach of Colegio de San Agustin in Makati, and the British School in Manila. His checkered career in taekwondo may have ended but his love for the sport that have earned honors for himself and the country continues with unabated passion.

SOURCES:
Image: www.pinoybigbrother.com

Donnie Geisler Oly FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/donnie.geisler

Donnie Geisler Taekwondo Training Center: https://www.facebook.com/pg/donniegeislertaekwondo/about/?ref=page_internal

Donnie Geisler Bio, Stats and Results/Olympics at Sports-Reference:

https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ge/donald-geisler-1.html

Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinoy_Big_Brother:_Celebrity_Edition_2

Donnie Geisler taekwondo interview video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGCsb2B1_wY