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Jonathan Mercado, Stephanie Mercado-de Koenigswarter and husband David de Koenigswarter at the 2023 PSA Awards Night on Tuesday. – ARNEL TACSON
MANILA, Philippines-Stephanie Mercado-de Koenigswarter and Jonathan Mercado, children of the late Lydia De Vega-Mercado, received the Sports Writers Association of the Philippines Hall of Fame award on behalf of their mother.
The sisters received PSA’s high honor for the second Olympics while also sharing the knowledge imparted by the Filipino sports legend, who died last year after a battle with breast cancer.
“There are two things we learned from mother, […] he always tells us to be respectful and disciplined,” said Stephanie during the PSA Awards night, Monday at the Diamond Hotel, Manila.
“If you have a goal, if you are disciplined and you want to achieve it, you will do everything necessary to achieve it and we see it in my mother. She started running when she was 15, she did not win immediately but because of her determination, she achieved a lot.
De Vega-Mercado rose to prominence on the athletics field in the 1980s when he entered the Olympics twice, in ’84 and ’88.
While she didn’t earn an accolade at either Olympics, De Vega-Mercado still won a number of global tilts, including a career-defining nine Southeast Asian Games gold medal tally.
He won gold three times in ’87, ’91 and ’93 in the SEA Games 100 meters.
Her son, Jonathan, also remembers the important message his mother left behind—a message she wants other Filipino athletes to remember De Vega-Mercado.
“My mom taught me that life will throw anything at you to make you say no, but she taught me that even then, despite everything [challenges] not listening. Always push yourself and you will achieve your goals,” said the graduating student.
“Always, laban lang (keep fighting),” added Stephanie.
Being the child of a legendary athlete can be stressful but Stephanie, who used to play for La Salle in the UAAP, says her mother taught her well.
He wants to teach his son the same thing.
“He is currently swimming but after that, we will introduce other sports to him. I play volleyball, my husband plays tennis and football,” said the volleyball figure.
“We’ll make him try anything we can get him to know, but at the end of the day it’s up to him to decide,” he added.
Asia’s Sprint Queen was honored with a Hall of Fame award on the same night as Elma Muros, a fellow athletics legend, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
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