“SHE fought the very good fight and is now at peace.”
Thus said Stephanie 'Paneng' Mercado-de Koenigswarter when she announced the death of her mother, Asia’s former sprint queen Lydia de Vega, on Wednesday after a long battle with breast cancer away from the public eye.
Diay, as she is called by friends and adoring fans, lived a full life and achieved success on the track that remained unmatched by Filipino athletes to this day, establishing her as one of the biggest modern-day heroines of Philippine sports.
[See Lydia De Vega, once Asia's fastest woman, dies of cancer at age 57]
But if she has one regret, it was the lack of an opportunity to help coach and nurture future Filipino world-beaters. That was one final dream the charming legend from Meycauayan, Bulacan intimated to media and friends on more than one occasion.
She repeated that sentiment in 2019, when she came home from Singapore to serve as flagbearer during the SEA Games opening ceremony with fellow legends Efren 'Bata' Reyes, Paeng Nepomuceno, Bong Coo, Akiko Thompson, Eric Buhain, Onyok Velasco and Alvin Patrimonio.

“Are you asking me how am I doing in Singapore?” Diay asked over lunch with Stephanie, relatives and close friends. “Well, since I arrived in Singapore, nagturo na ako ng sprint, coached and trained future athletes, mostly in elementary school level.“
“And as of this date (2019), hindi namn kayabangan, naka produce na ako ng fresh and young talents who became members of that country’s national team,” she related with her infectious smile.
That one accomplishment was bitter sweet, she was quick to add.
“Masaya ako, because yun nga, my efforts bore fruit after a decade and-a-half,“ Diay said. “Malungkot din, kasi instead of mga Pilipino ang natuto sa mga turo ko, mga Singaporean na magiging kalaban pa natin in the future."
No one was more qualified for the job, of course. In her heyday, De Vega was celebrated as Asia's Fastest Woman with victories in 53 international races, including a pair of International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) championships.
Her most iconic moment came in the 1981 SEA Games and where she led a breakout performance by products of the then two-year-old Project Gintong Alay initiated and headed by President Ferdinand Marcos’ nephew Michael Keon.
Diay topped the 200m dash and 400-meter run at the head of the Philippines’ 55-55-77 gold-silver-bronze medal harvest - good for third place overall behind perennial general championship winners Indonesia and Thailand.

In all, De Vega won 14 gold medals in her favorite 100 meters, eight at 200 meters, three at 400 meters and two in long jump. She was so good that when the triple jump was introduced for women in 1990, she won it in her first try at the 1993 National Open.
Diay was the first and the only woman athlete to rule the 100m back-top-back in the Asian Games, ruling it in 1982 in New Delhi and in 1986 in Seoul.
She pulled off a pair of golden sprint doubles at the Asian Amateur Athletic Association (4As) championships in 1983 in Singapore and 1987 in Jakarta, the city where she scored a treble by ruling the 100m, 200m and long jump at the 14th SEA Games.
Diay coached local athletes for a while, but left the country after her tenure as consultant at the Philippine Sports Commission consultant ended right after the Philippines won the SEA Games overall championship 15 years ago.
She ended up in Singapore after accepting a long-standing offer to coach in at least four educational institutions in that island nation.
De Vega said: “Ano magagawa ko? This is my profession and it is my job to teach, kahit anong lahi pa mga estudyante ko. I wanted sana, as much as possible, to impart what I’ve learned as an international athlete, sa ating mga kabataan.
"Pero hindi tayo pinalad ma-appoint na coach dito sa sarili nating bansa. Still I told myself, wait lang baka magkatutuo rin ang wish ko.”
Diay never did, but that doesn't mean her accomplishments were in vain as she remains an inspiration to Filipino athletes for generations to come.
Rest well, legend.
[Editor's note: Lydia De Vega's remains lie in state at the Heritage Park in Taguig City. Her daughter Stephanie announced on Friday that it will be open to friends and family from 9 a.m. of 10 p.m. before it is opened to the public in a few days.]
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