De Vega-Mercado, the country’s “Sprint Queen” and “Asia’s Fastest Woman” during her prime, who once brought honor to the Philippines in the world of track and field, passed away from breast cancer.
By Reggie Abang
Philippine track and field legend and Olympian Lydia de Vega-Mercado passed away yesterday at the Makati Medical Center after a four-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.
In her Facebook post, de Vega-Mercado’s daughter, former volleyball player Stephanie Mercado-de Koenigswater, confirmed her mother’s passing, saying that she “fought the good fight and is now at peace.” She asked the public for prayers for her soul and added that they are releasing the details of her wake soon.
Once dubbed as the “Sprint Queen” and “Asia’s Fastest Woman,” de Vega-Mercado rose to fame in athletics after winning gold medals in the 1981 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games’ 200-meter and 400-meter run at the age of 16. With the guidance of her father and coach Francisco, she also won gold in the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games’ 100-meter dash.
In her career as a sprinter, she won nine gold medals at the SEA Games, two at the Asian Games, and four in the Asian Athletics Championship. She also represented the country at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics.
She capped off an illustrious career in glory in 1994 after winning the 100-meter dash in the Manila-Fujian Games. After her retirement, she dedicated most of her life to teaching athletics to the youth athletes in Singapore starting in 2005.
She also fought for athletes’ rights as a liaison officer of the Alliance of Coaches and Athletes of the Philippines.
Her last public appearance was at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony in the Philippines as one of the flag bearers.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she was forced to stop working to fully attend to her disease. Mercado-de Koenigswater later revealed her illness after she posted on her Instagram account that her mother was in critical condition after undergoing brain surgery.
She is survived by her husband, Paul Mercado, and their three children, including Mercado-de Koenigswater.
