Rest in peace, legend. Philippine sports icon and track legend Lydia de Vega died on Wednesday, August 10, after a four-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine sports icon and track legend Lydia de Vega died on Wednesday, August 10, after a four-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.
One of the most decorated athletes in the country’s history, De Vega amassed 15 gold medals across multiple international competitions, including nine from the Southeast Asian Games alone. Fondly called Diay, De Vega was a two-time Olympian and joined the quest for the Philippines’ first gold medal in 1984 and 1988.
Last July 20, Mercado-De Koenigswarter made public her mother’s health status, noting that the Philippine sports great “is inMercado-De Koenigswarter asked the public for prayers and donations as the retired sports star had been battling stage 4 breast cancer since 2018.” Mercado-De Koenigswarter shared that the Philippine sports icon, who was then confined at Makati Medical Center, was unable to speak but said their family remains positive that De Vega could hear them talk to her.