Celso "Cito" Limjuco Dayrit was a Filipino fencer and sports executive who served as President of the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Fencing Confederation of Asia.
21 Facts About Celso Dayrit
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Celso Dayrit was born on December 11,1951, in Manila, Philippines.
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Celso Dayrit learned fencing at age six and was trained by his father, Francisco Dayrit Sr.
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Celso Dayrit attended the De La Salle University, obtaining a bachelor's degree in business management in 1973 and later obtained a master's degree in business administration in 1978 at La Salle Business School.
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Shortly after graduating from college Dayrit served managerial positions in the banking industry.
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Celso Dayrit became Vice President of the BPI Credit Corporation, at the time credit cards were still being introduced in the Philippines.
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Celso Dayrit took up fencing as a competitive sport, partaking in various national and international competitions.
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Celso Dayrit represented the Philippines in international competitions from 1979 to 1988.
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Celso Dayrit was given the Fencer of the Year Award for Epee in 1984.
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Celso Dayrit led the Philippine Fencing Association, the national sports association for fencing in the Philippines from 1997 to 2008.
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Celso Dayrit became the President of the Fencing Confederation of Asia in 2005, leading the continental sports body until his death in 2021.
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Celso Dayrit was serving his fifth term as president of the FCA at the time of his death.
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Celso Dayrit was largely involved in the founding of the Philippine National Games which was introduced in 1994.
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Celso Dayrit has accreditation for being an International Course Director of the Olympic Solidarity Itinerant Administration School for sports leaders from the International Olympic Committee, being the only Filipino to have received the distinction.
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Celso Dayrit founded the Philippine Olympic Academy and the Philippine Olympians Association.
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Celso Dayrit was part of the executive committee of the International Fencing Federation from 2004 to 2020.
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Celso Dayrit published a book entitled The Olympic Movement in the Philippines in 2003; which could serve as a reference for national sports association officials.
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Celso Dayrit is a recipient of the Olympic Merit Award in the 2006 which was conferred on him by the Association of National Olympic Committees.
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The Philippine Sportswriters Association conferred on Celso Dayrit a leadership award two times and he is an inductee of the De La Salle Sports Hall of Fame.
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Celso Dayrit died on April 27,2021, due to complications arising from COVID-19, amidst a pandemic of the disease.
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Celso Dayrit comes from a family heavily involved in the sport of fencing with his father Francisco Sr.