Lydia de Vega
| Lydia de Vega-Mercado | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Lydia de Vega December 12, 1964 Meycauayan, Bulacan, Philippines |
| Occupation | Athlete, coach and politician |
Lydia de Vega-Mercado (born December 12, 1964[1]) is a former athlete from the Philippines, was considered Asia's fastest woman in the 1980s.[2] De Vega first made an impact at the 1981 SEA Games held in Manila with gold medal performances in the 200 and 400 meter events. As Asia's sprint queen, she ran away with the gold medal in the 100-meter dash in the 1982 New Delhi Asiad[2] and duplicated the feat in the 1986 Seoul Asiad[2] where she was clocked 11.53 seconds. She also brought home a silver medal in the 200-meter race from the 1986 Seoul Asiad.
De Vega-Mercado won the gold in the 100 meters at the Southeast Asian 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. She holds both Philippine and Southeast Asian records with her personal best of 11.28 seconds.[3]
Diay, as she is fondly called by her countrymen was a two-time Olympian, having carried the country's colors in the 1984 (Los Angeles) and 1988 (Seoul) Olympics.
De Vega served as a councilor of her native Meycauayan town in Bulacan province.[2] As of 2005, she was coaching schools and private athletes in Singapore.
References
- ↑ "Biography: Lydia DE VEGA-MERCADO ()". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- 1 2 3 4 "Loyzaga, Mumar, Sulaiman, De Vega to be feted by PSA (psa)". Manila Bulletin. January 3, 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- ↑ Enzo, Pirie. "Lydia De Vega rev 6". pinoyathletics.com. Retrieved 2012-11-22.