Lydia De Vega About Asia’s #1 Amazing Sprint Queen

• 1984 & 1988 Olympic Games ( quarter-finalist in both games )
• Currently SEA Games record holder in 100m ( 11.28 secs ) since 1987 & former 200m record holder ( 23.35secs ) from 1987 to 2001
• Asia’s fastest women for eight years from 1982 – 1990
• Two gold and one silver medal in 2 Asian Games
• Four gold, one silver & 4 bronze medals in 5 Asian Track & Field meet
• 5 SEA Games 9 gold, two silver medals in 
• 5 ASEAN Cups 9 gold, two silver medals 
• 3 ASEAN Schools Track & Field meet nine golds

Lydia De Vega’s Accomplishments

• Philippines Sports Writers Association ( PSA )

1. 1981 – Athlete of the Year
2. 1986 – Athlete of the Year
3. 1987 – Athlete of the Year
4. 1992 – Major Award
5. 1993 – Major Award
6. 1994 – Special Award
7. 1998 – Athlete of the Century
8. 1999 – Millennium Athlete

• Sports Columnist Organisation of the Philippines ( SCOOP )

1. 1981 – Athlete of the Year
2. 1986 – Athlete of the Year
3. 1987 – Outstanding Achievement Award
4. 1993 – Athlete of the Year
5. 1994 – Hall of Fame

• Ten Outstanding Young Men ( TOYM )

1. 1993 – Sports Category

• International Invitation Track & Field Competition, Bangkok

1. 1983 – Best Female Athlete

• Southern Coast Conference, USA

1. 1986 – Athlete of the Year

(JS Athletics, 2019)

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Brief Story of Lydia De Vega ( Partly Extracted from Athletics Digest 1983, Singapore and modified by Pirie Enzo):

Lydia De Vega Family

In Meycauayan Bulacan, Lydia De Vega was born on December 26th, 1964. Her father, the late Francisco “Tatang,” was a policeman who provided De Vega with the strict training that made her the most accomplished and well-known female track and field athlete in our nation.

Tatang was born to Mary and had 10 offspring. Because of this, Lydia discovered her potential for sprinting at the age of 12 and went on to have a career that lasted 17 years.

The dream of a 14-year-old schoolgirl who had started to compete in Track & Field meets with a promising 27.5secs for the 200m and the silver medal in the Philippines National Junior Championship. She added fourth place in the 100m to this success.

“He controlled my life. Gusto niya sundin ko lahat ng sinasabi niya. Wala siyangmali sa ginagawa niya sa akin. Siyempre umiyak ako. There were times I felt I was dying. Each and every workout, I have to finish. Walang pahi-pahinga. Pagnagkamali, sasaktan, sasabihan ng masasama,” – Lydia would later say of her father.

Furthermore, teenage Lydia made headlines when she won the 200-meter and 400-meter events in Jakarta’s first ASEAN Cup in 24.53 and 55.83 seconds, respectively. Additionally, she achieved the best times ever for an Asian woman in the one-lap event that year with 12.0 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 24.53 seconds in the 200-meter dash (fourth fastest in Asia), and 54.6 seconds in the 400-meter dash (JS Athletics, 2019).

1981

Lydia De Vega made a great start to the 1981 season with two silver and one bronze medal at the 4th Asian Track & Field Championship in Tokyo. She finished behind Japan’s Yunko Yoshida in the 400 meters with a timing of 55.39 seconds. At the same time, she ran the 200 meters in 24.54 seconds to beat Japanese competitors Tomi Ohsaka and Emiko Konishi. However, she won silver in the 4x100m relay, where the Philippines team finished second to Malaysia after the winning Japanese team was disqualified (JS Athletics, 2019).

De Vega was the unquestioned star of the 11th SEA Games in Manila after the 1981 campaign. Consequently, she secured the gold medals in the 200m and 400m with an outstanding 23.54 secs shorter distance. (only Chi Cheng was faster in Asia at any time) and a metric quarter-mile record of 54.75 seconds (400m junior Record broken three times, 200m still stands)

Her feat was completed by silver medals in both relay competitions, underscoring the risk of taking on too many races at once. De Vega consequently began an exciting career as a film actress after graduating from high school and enrolling in PE classes at the Far Eastern University in Manila. Hence the first film thus depicts an athlete’s gradual but consistent rise from extremely humble beginnings at the grassroots level to setting records and taking home gold medals. While Francisco “Tatang” De Vega, her father. When asked about Lydia’s plans, her coach also gave his opinion, saying, “Studies first, sports second, Film third.” (JS Athletics, 2019).

1982

Gold medals were, of course, also on Lydia’s itinerary for 1982 as a result. She won a triple crown at the 2nd ASEAN Cup in Kuala Lumpur with times of 11.8 seconds for the 100 meters, 24.2 seconds for the 200 meters, and 55.0 seconds for the 400 meters despite being unopposed once more. Additionally, because of a minor injury she sustained during the 400 meters, she was unable to compete in the sprint relay after her team won bronze in the 4x400m relay. Hence this was only three weeks before the 9th Asian Games in New Delhi, the Indian capital (JS Athletics, 2019).

Lydia appeared to be in good shape again as she won the 100-meter final in a time of 11.77 seconds, which was an improvement of 1/100 of a second over P. T. Usha of India and Mo Myung Hee of Korea (11.99secs). The dextrous Philippine track queen was never in danger from either of her rivals.

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Therefore due to new pains caused by an old injury, Lydia had to cancel her participation in the 200m after her triumphant showing in the 100 meters.

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Year          Age               100m          200m          400m

1978          14 years             13.2               27.5

– 1979          15 years             12.1               26.6                58.8

1980          16 years             12.0               24.53              54.6

1981 17 years – 23.54 54.75

1982          18 years             11.76            24.20               55.0

 

 

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1983

The next year, at the Asian Track and Field Championships in Kuwait, De Vega won the sprint double with 11.82 and 24.07 and the bronze medal in the 400m in 55.66, upsetting her Indian rival P.T. Usha in the 200m before Usha came back in the 400m. She joined a select group of Filipino track and field competitors who have won both the Asian Games and the Asian T&F titles.

The Philippines sent Lydia De Vega to the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, in recognition of her efforts that year. She came in fifth in her preliminary heat in a time of 11.74 (+2.1) and came in last in her quarterfinal in a time of 11.90; the event was won by Germany’s Marita Koch, with none other than Jamaica’s long-distance runner Merlene Ottey coming in second.

1984

At the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984, Lydia represented the Philippines. She once more advanced to the quarterfinals of a major competition, placing sixth in 11.97 seconds. De Vega lost the bronze medal at the Asian Track and Field Championships the following year to PT Usha.

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1986

But the following year, she defended her Asian Games crown in Jakarta, Indonesia, skipping the SEA Games in the process. And in the 200 meters, Usha won the silver medal with a blanket finish of 23.44 to 23.47 and a win of 11.53 over her (Nair, 2021).

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“Opo nga, mabilis siya, but you know, I ran and I fast:” By Lydia de Vega after beating PT Usha of India in the 1985 Asian Games.;

Lydia De Vega Asia’s Sprint Queen 1987

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In the 100-meter event at the SEA Games, De Vega set a Philippine record that is still in effect today (11.28), and she also successfully defended her 200-meter crown (23.57). As was already mentioned, De Vega’s attempt to break Chi Cheng‘s Asian Record was derailed by a botched start.

With 11.43 and a national record of 23.38, she also won the double 100/200 at the Asian Athletic Championships in Singapore.

She went to her second Olympic games in Seoul, Korea, in 1988. However, her 11.67 wasn’t good enough to advance past the heats this time.

The following few years would be De Vega’s to focus on starting a family. Stephanie, her first child, was born in 1989. (2 other children followed, one was tragically killed in a jeepney accident in 2001).

Lydia De Vega Asia’s Sprint Queen 1991

In 1991, De Vega made a return and ran 11.44 to win the 100-meter race at the sea games once more.

After the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore, De Vega retired on a high note after winning the 100-meter race in 11.60 and shattering the 200-meter national record with a time of 23.37.

Throughout a career that lasted an eleven-and-a-half year, Diay won over forty gold medals at international competitions. With her 100, 200, and 400-meter times still standing, she is still the greatest female sprinter in the history of the nation.

While her late father, Francisco “Tatang” De Vega, made contributions that helped mould and develop her to the best of her skills. The Filipino people were moved by her achievements in track and field.

“Sports has had a great impact in my life. It gave me the opportunity to bring prestige to my country and molded me into what I am today. I want my children to experience the same.”.