Track superstar Lydia de Vega had one too many challenging races in her two-decade career. For sports fans in the ‘80s, one of the Bulakeña athlete’s most memorable victories was at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, India. It was November of that year when P.T. Usha, one of India’s greatest athletes, met her match in the 17-year-old Pinay sprinter.
De Vega clinched the coveted gold medal in that event—only a first in a series of wins that would cement her place in the world of sports and give her the stature of Asia’s fastest woman. Together, Usha and De Vega would also spark one of the most exciting rivalries in Asian sports history.
The Philippine Sunday Express described the Filipina sprinter’s victory in the 100-meter dash of the 1982 Asian Games as a “stunning come-from-behind win.” In her interview with the publication, De Vega recalled the heart-stopping moments before and during the race. She admitted to have missed a few precious seconds when the gun was fired, allowing the other sprinters to get a head start.
“Ang lakas ng start nila pero alam kong aabutan ko sila,” she told the paper, referring to her competitors from Thailand and Korea who were ahead of the pack during the initial seconds of the game. The last 50 meters were a make or break for the Philippines’ bet. “Papalapit ako nang papalapit at papausog naman sila ng papausog,” she said.
She took control of the race midway, and in the last 10 meters, de Vega outdistanced Usha of India and Me Myun-hee of South Korea, making it to the finish line at 11.76 seconds. De Vega was a clear winner by two or three meters, the Sunday Express reported.
Indian sprinter Usha was hard to beat in the 200m, 400m or the 400m hurdles. But de Vega always gave her a run for her money in 100-meter dash. “Those days, I did not have any competition in any event except the 100m,” Usha told Sportstar, after learning of her friend Lydia’s passing. “Lydia always used to give me a tough fight in the 100m. She was my greatest rival.”
The two Asian sprinters raced against each other in about 10 Asian finals. De Vega beat Usha in the Asiad 100m final twice, as well as in the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games. Usha prevailed at the Asian Championships 100m in Jakarta 1985 and again lost to de Vega the following year in Singapore.
“My most memorable races against Lydia were in the 1986 Asian Games. After she beat me in the 100m, I came from behind and beat her in the 200m with a nice dip at the finish,” said Usha. In the 1986 Seoul Asian Games 100m, de Vega beat her own record clocking at 11.53 seconds and beat this again the following year at 11.28. De Vega held this record for 33 years.
“She was a very glamorous girl, had a beautiful physique and nicely-toned muscles. She came for training and for races wearing make-up and had a lot of fans. Everybody in our family liked her,” recalled Usha. “In fact my uncle T.V. Narayanan, who brought me to sport, named his daughter who was born around that time as Lydia.” Usha also admired de Vega’s attitude and competitive spirit.
Lydia (or “Diay”) credits her father-coach, ex-policeman Francisco “Tatang” de Vega, for her successful track career. “Tatang was her PR, masseur, therapist, and sports psychologist,” wrote Philip Ella Juico in his Business World column. Juico is chairman emeritus of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA).
Being an athlete is no walk in the park and the strict Tatang pushed Lydia beyond her limits. “‘Pag pumupunta ako sa starting point, umiiyak ako. Galit na galit ako sa sarili ko... Andami-daming sports, ba’t track-and-field ang napili ko, takbo lang ako ng takbo. Ang pahinga ko, lakad,” she once said in an interview.
“‘Pag last na ‘yung workout—let’s say I’m doing 200 meters—dahil sa galit ko sa sarili ko at sa galit ko sa tatay ko, tatakbuhin ko talaga ng mas mabilis ‘yun.”
As history would prove, the father and daughter’s hard work paid off. Diay ended up beating her own records and proved she can be Asia’s sprint queen. “Kung wala si Tatang, wala si Lydia,” she said.