Maria Lydia de Vega-Mercado (; December 26, 1964 – August 10, 2022) was a Filipina athlete who was considered Asia's fastest woman in the 1980s.

Athletic career

De Vega was discovered in the

Palarong Pambansa The Palarong Pambansa ( Filipino for "National Games") is an annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from the different regions of the Philippines. The event which was known as the BPISAA Games from its inception in 1948 until 197 ...

() in the 1970s, and was recruited to be a part of

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...

Tamaraws varsity track team. She then became a member of the

Gintong Alay Project Gintong Alay or Gintong Alay () was a national sports program of the Philippine government launched under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos. History Establishment In Letter of Instructions No. 955 dated October 31, 1979, ...

track and field program. She was coached by her father Francisco "Tatang" de Vega who was assisted by Claro Pellosis. Santos Magno and Anthony Benson later joined her training staff. De Vega first made an impact at the

1981 Southeast Asian Games The 1981 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 11th Southeast Asian Games, were a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines from 6 to 15 December 1981. This was the first time that the Philippines hosted the Games since its first p ...

(SEA Games) held in Manila with gold medal performances in the 200 and 400 meter events exceeding records set at the Asian Games. As Asia's sprint queen, she ran away with the gold medal in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

in the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games (), also known as Delhi 1982 (), were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of the Olymp ...

in New Delhi and duplicated the feat in the same event at the 1986 edition in Seoul where she clocked 11.53 seconds. She developed a

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

with Indian athlete P. T. Usha. In 1982, de Vega starred as herself in a film based on her own life titled ''Medalyang Ginto'' (), directed by Romy Suzara and written by novelist Edgardo M. Reyes. De Vega won the gold in the 100 meters at the SEA Games (

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, 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 The Asian Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Asian Athletics Association. History The competition courted controversy with the IAAF when political in-fighting arose after Israel was excluded from participation in 1977. That edi ...

–

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

. 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 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. 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. In 1989 until 1991, De Vega took a break from athletics. During this period she got an academic degree and got married. She entered the

1991 Asian Athletics Championships The ninth Asian Championships in Athletics were held in 1991 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutio ...

and made a decent finish of seventh place. De Vega 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 The Philippine National Games officially known as the POC- PSC Games is a national multi-sport tournament in the Philippines. It was created as a means to determine the possible composition of national pool athletes that will compete in inte ...

at that time. She retired from her athletic career in 1994.

Later life and death

De Vega was elected as councilor of her native

Meycauayan Meycauayan , officially the City of Meycauayan (), is a 1st class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 225,673 people. The place got its name from the Tagalog words ''m ...

town in Bulacan province in 2001. In early 2005, she was appointed a liaison officer of the Alliance of Coaches and Athletes of the Philippines with the

Philippine Sports Commission The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC; ) is an agency of the Philippine government that tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee, a privately-ran organization that e ...

. In December 2005, De Vega went to Singapore after receiving three job offers from Singaporean private schools to handle athletics. She coached young athletes in Singapore. In 2018, De Vega was diagnosed with stage 4

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. Over the next four years she underwent several procedures including a brain surgery. She was one of the flag bearers of the official SEA Games flag at the opening ceremony of the

2019 Southeast Asian Games The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, were the 30th edition of the SEA Games, Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport ...

in the Philippines. In July 2022, De Vega was reportedly "in critical condition". She died on August 10, 2022, after battling cancer while hospitalized at the

Makati Medical Center Makati Medical Center (MMC), also known as Makati Med, is a tertiary hospital in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. The hospital was founded on May 31, 1969. The hospital is owned and operated by Medical Doctors Inc., a subsidiary of Metro P ...

Personal life

De Vega's father was Francisco "Tatang" De Vega, Sr. (August 13, 1928 – December 26, 2010), who was also her coach. Singaporean athlete Jacter Singh was her long-time partner. They first met at the 1979 Asean Schools Track and Field Championships in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and were together for six years prior to both of them entering separate marriages. De Vega would marry another man named Paul Mercado in 1990, a former engineer at

Meralco The Manila Electric Company, also known as Meralco (, , stylized in uppercase), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 3 ...

and an entrepreneur engaged in the fish pond business, with whom she had three children, including Stephanie (Paneng), who is a former collegiate volleyball player of the

DLSU Lady Spikers The De La Salle University Lady Spikers are the women's collegiate varsity volleyball team of De La Salle University. They compete in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The DLSU Lady Spikers are hailed as the most ...

. On February 13, 2001, her four-year-old son John Michael (JM) (October 31, 1996 – February 13, 2001) died in a car accident. De Vega ended her marriage with Mercado. Singh divorced his wife the same year. De Vega and Singh would then restart their relationship.

Honors and awards

The Far Eastern University inducted De Vega, one of their alumni, to their Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2018, De Vega was inducted to the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Vega, Lydia 1964 births 2022 deaths Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Asian Games athletes for the Philippines Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Asian Games silver medalists for the Philippines Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Asian Games Competitors at the 1981 SEA Games Competitors at the 1983 SEA Games Competitors at the 1987 SEA Games Competitors at the 1991 SEA Games Competitors at the 1993 SEA Games Deaths from breast cancer in the Philippines Filipino city and municipal councilors Filipino expatriate sportspeople in Singapore Filipino female sprinters Filipino sportsperson-politicians Filipino track and field coaches Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Olympic female sprinters Olympic track and field athletes for the Philippines People from Meycauayan Philippine Sports Hall of Fame inductees Politicians from Bulacan SEA Games medalists in athletics SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines Sportspeople from Bulacan Asian Athletics Championships winners