PHILIPPINE Sports Commissioner Olivia Bong Coo would like to honor De Vega by naming the Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium after the deceased Filipina track superstar.
But there was a problem.
“We found out that the PSC board before us had already named the Track and Football stadium after Simeon Toribio. So we abandoned that idea,” said Coo, herself an accomplished athlete, who had won the World Cup of bowling four times.
Toribio was a Filipino high jump athlete, who won a bronze medal in the 1932 Olympics. Two years before, he was awarded Asia’s Greatest Athlete.
Toribio, who got a civil engineering degree at Silliman University in Dumaguete, would later serve as Representative of the second district of Bohol, where he lived until his death in 1969.
Coo said De Vega will instead be honored by putting up a lifesized monument in her image that will serve as a remembrance to De Vega’s inspiring achievement as an athlete.
De Vega was a four-time Asian sprint champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, and nine-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist. She died on Aug. 10 last year after a long bout with cancer.
“We would like to give that honor to Lydia. We want her to be remembered and emulated by the younger generation,” said Coo.
Fondly called Diay by her fans and friends, De Vega’s last public appearance was during the opening ceremony of the 30th SEA Games at the New Clark City, where she carried the Philippine flag, together with fellow sports legends.
In August, 2021 during the leadership of then-chairman William Ramirez, the PSC board named several government sports facilities to sports heroes.
The weightlifting gym has been named Hidilyn Diaz Weightlifting Gym in honor of the first Olympic gold medalist from the Philippines.
The PSC Board renamed the Rizal Memorial Tennis Court to Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Court, the RMSC Swimming Pool to Teofilo Yldefonso Swimming Pool, and the Rizal Memorial Track Stadium to Simeon Toribio Track Stadium.
The markers at the entrance of the facilities bearing the new names, however, have not yet been installed since the board resolution.