Lydia de Vega-Mercado said a lot has changed since she retired back in 1994.
And it will be only a matter of time before somebody who is better than her will show up.
The track star, who was considered Asia’s fastest woman in the 1980s, was among the 10 who were inducted into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies held in Manila last Thursday.
“Nakikita ko naman. The athletes are doing their part to win medals for the country, and not for themselves only. At meron din na mga athletes na late bloomer. Darating din ang time nila. They just have to keep on trying harder,” said de Vega-Mercado following rites held at the Philippine International Convention Center.
The 53-year old de Vega-Mercado shared her thoughts after coming back from Singapore, where she has been coaching kids at a private school for the last 14 years.
Her children, volleyball player Stephanie and Jonathan, joined her during the rites.
She first made waves at the 1981 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Manila with gold medal performances in the 200 and 400 meter events.
De Vega-Mercado distinguished herself as Asia’s sprint queen. She ran away with the gold medal in the 100-meter dash in the 1982 New Delhi Asiad,
She duplicated the feat in the 1986 Seoul Asiad where she clocked 11.53 seconds.
So far, the incentives given to medallists, and the support that the Philippine Sports Commissions gives to athletes in training are among the things that have changed since her days as a Project: Gintong Alay athlete.
No such benefits and support were available to many national athletes at that time.
And this should be enough motivation for to excel in international meets.
She believes that the PSC is doing to enough, and that national athletes should be rewarded for their efforts to excel for the country.
Bowling wonders Paeng Nepomuceno and Bong Coo are among the ten awardees
Also present and inducted that night was Boxing champ Erbito Salavarria who held both WBC and WBA flyweight belts during his prime.
Posthumously inducted were Filomeno Codinera (baseball/softball), Josephine dela Vina (athletics), Loreto Carbonell (basketball), Benjamin Arda (golf), Lita dela Rosa (bowling) and Senator Ambrosio Padilla (basketball).
“Hindi madali ang maging atleta. Hindi madali na magwagi. Hindi madali ang gawin lahat ng mga bagay na magiging dahilan para mapabilang ka sa mga katangitanging atleta na pararangalan ng ganito. Masaya ako na mapabilang sa Hall of Fame. Salamat ako ay inyong napili,” added de Vega.
De Vega-Mercado learned about Republic Act 10699, which increases the amount of cash incentives given to winning athletes, coaches and trainers. It also included athletes with disabilities in the grant of benefits and incentives.
For the Olympic Games, the gold medallists will be granted P10 million, silver medallists P5 million, and bronze medallists P2 million each. For the Asian Games, the gold medallists are entitled to P2 million cash incentives, silver medallists P1 million and the bronze medallists P400,000 each.
The incentives, according to de Vega-Mercado, should be enough to fire up aspiring national athletes.