The saddest day in Philippine sports just came on Wednesday when Asia’s sprint queen Lydia de Vega-Mercado passed away after a four-year battle with breast cancer, her daughter Stephanie Mercado-de Koenigswarter announced in a Facebook post.
Stephanie, a former De La Salle University women’s volleyball player, said the details of the wake would be announced very soon.
“On behalf of our family, it is with absolute grief that I announce the death of my mother — Lydia de Vega — this evening, August 10, 2022 at the Makati Medical Center. She fought the very good fight and is now at peace,” Stephanie said.
De Vega-Mercado was 57.
The fastest woman in Asia during the 1980s had made her mark in the 100-meter dash winning the gold nine times in the Southeast Asian Games, capturing gold in the Asian Championship four times, and taking home two gold medals in the Asian Games.
De Vega-Mercado of Meycauayan, Bulacan was an Olympian in 1984 Los Angeles and 1988 Seoul Summer Games.
She retired from active competition in 1994.