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    Greatest Filipino athletes in SEA Games: Lydia de Vega - Asia's fastest woman

    Greatest Filipino athletes in SEA Games: Lydia De Vega
    Nov 29, 2019

    LYDIA de Vega was Asia’s sprint queen during her heyday and it was not surprising that De Vega also dominated the Southeast Asian Games stage.

    A product of the Gintong Alay under program director Michael Keon, De Vega first conquered the SEA Games in 1981 during the Manila staging of the event when she claimed the 200-meter and 400-meter gold medals. She also won the 200-meter event in 1983.

    After back-to-back gold medals in the 100-meter run in the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games, De Vega ruled the century dash in 1987 with a time of 11.28 seconds for a new SEA Games record. The legendary sprinter from Bulacan made it a double-gold performance when she emerged the fastest in the 200-meter run.

    De Vega took a break from athletics to become a mother and didn’t participate in the 1989 edition, but she came back strong by winning the 100-meter gold in the 1991 Manila SEA Games with a time of 11.44 seconds.

    Lydia de Vega

    De Vega’s swan song came in 1993 when she won another double-gold in Singapore by ruling the 100-meter and 200-meter run.

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      De Vega announced her retirement in 1994, but her accomplishments in athletics, that also include two appearances in the Olympics, are still an inspiration to this day.

      Her SEA Games record in the 100-meter run still stands today and the Philippines is still in search of the next Lydia De Vega that will rule not just in Southeast Asia but also in Asia as well.

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