Sprint queen Lydia de Vega helped put the country in the athletics map following her stellar international exploits that will forever be etched in Philippine sports lore.
on Wednesday, August 11, after a four-year cancer battle.
Her national record in 100m of 11.28 seconds stood for more than three decades before Filipino-American Kristina KnottIn an impressive display of her athletic prowess, De Vega even won a long jump gold in the 1987 SEA Games to go with the 100m and 200m titles she captured in that edition of the biennial meet.
“It was not easy being an athlete, it was not easy to win,” De Vega said in Filipino during her Hall of Fame acceptance speech. When Tatang died in 2010, Lydia admitted in his wake that there were times she questioned why she chose track and field as her father pushed her to her physical limits.“Without Tatang, there would be no Lydia de Vega,” she said in Filipino. “Tatang is the best track and field coach this country has ever had.”
Stephanie, nicknamed “Paneng,” also played professionally with the Cignal HD Spikers and Petro Gazz Angels.In 1982, De Vega portrayed herself in, a movie about her life that detailed her rise into becoming an international champion.Fast forward to the early 2000s, De Vega co-hostedShe also served as councilor of her native Meycauayan town in Bulacan.De Vega didn’t fully retire from the sport as she eventually pursued a coaching career in Singapore.
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