Lydia de Vega-Mercado

Lydia De Vega was a Filipino athlete who was considered Asia's fastest woman in the 1980s.

Her Accomplishments

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 )
1981 – Athlete of the Year
1986 – Athlete of the Year
1987 – Athlete of the Year
1992 – Major Award
1993 – Major Award
1994 – Special Award
1998 – Athlete of the Century
1999 – Millennium Athlete
Sports Columnist Organisation of the Philippines ( SCOOP )
1981 – Athlete of the Year
1986 – Athlete of the Year
1987 – Outstanding Achievement Award
1993 – Athlete of the Year
1994 – Hall of Fame
Ten Outstanding Young Men ( TOYM )
1993 – Sports Category
International Invitation Track & Field Competition, Bangkok
1983 – Best Female Athlete
Southern Coast Conference, USA
1986 – Athlete of the Year
https://www.pinoyathletics.info/lydia-de-vega/?amp

De Vega was a member of the Gintong Alay Track & Field program in 1979. She was first coached by her father Tatang De Vega and Claro Pellosis. Her coaches in the period 1980 to 1984 were Santos Magno & Anthony Benson. De Vega first made an impact at the 1981 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Manila with gold medal performances in the 200 and 400 meter events exceeding records set at the Asian Games.[5] As Asia's sprint queen, she ran away with the gold medal in the 100-meter dash in the 1982 New Delhi Asiad[3] and duplicated the feat in the 1986 Seoul Asiad[3] where she clocked 11.53 seconds.[6]

De Vega won the gold in the 100 meters at the SEA Games (1987, 1991 and 1993). She also topped the 200 meter event in 1981, 1983, 1987 and 1993. She has twice won both the 100 and 200 meter golds in the Asian Athletics Championships – 1983 and 1987. As a 16-year old in the 1981 edition, she placed second in the 400 meter run and also bagged the bronze medal in the 200 meters.

De Vega was a two-time Olympian, represented the Philippines at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics.

She also brought home a silver medal in the 200-meter race from the 1986 Seoul Asiad, and has once represented a friend for the Long Jumps and broke her record.[citation needed]

In 1989 until 1991, De Vega took a break from athletics. During this period she got a degree and got married. She entered the 1991 Asian Athletics Championships and made a decent finish of seventh place.[5]

The sprinter retired after competing at the track and field event of the 1994 Manila-Fujian Games held in October. She won the 100m event. She announced that she would not be competing at the upcoming edition of the Philippine National Games at that time.- wikipedia