“I join the entire nation in mourning the untimely demise of former Asian sprint queen Lydia de Vega, after a four-year battle with breast cancer,” Marcos said. “My sincerest condolences to her family and loved ones.” READ:
The Philippine Sports Commission paid tribute to Asia’s former sprint queen and Philippine track icon Lydia De Vega-Mercado by putting up a LED billboard outside Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Vito Cruz, Manila on Thursday. De Vega-Mercado died on Thursday following a long fight against cancer.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the tributes as he offered his “condolences and mourning” for De Vega-Mercado’s family.
“Lydia was once touted as the fastest woman in Asia and she placed the Philippines in the map of international athletics. She won the 100-meter gold medal in the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games,”the President said.Legislators, led by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez, on Thursday also condoled with the family of the retired Filipino sprinter, who died at the age of 57.
Several of Tolentino’s fellow national Olympic committee leaders expressed their grief over the Filipina icon’s passing. Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, was among the first to convey his condolences.Singapore National Olympic Council president Tan Chuan-Jin said: “Our deepest condolences to the POC and the family of the late Lydia de Vega. Who can’t forget the iconic Queen of the track?”