FITTING RECOGNITION: Petecio honored to receive President’s Award

Nesthy Petecio overflowed with pride after receiving the President’s Award during the 2024 Philippine Sportswriters Association Annual Awards Night on Monday at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel.

The 32-year-old boxer said she is truly thankful to the organization for recognizing all the hard work she put in to bring home a bronze medal in the women’s flyweight event of the Summer Olympics in Paris last year.

Petecio showed up in the glittery event donning a white shirt, cream bomber jacket and khaki pants to signify her laid-back personality. But it hardly mattered as she displayed a very positive attitude with a heart full of love and gratitude to the support showered on her by this adoring nation.

“I’m so blessed and happy that they recognize the hard work I’ve put in to achieve Olympic glory,” Petecio, the first Filipina to win two Olympic medals, told DAILY TRIBUNE.

“We know that it’s going to be a tough year for us but with hard work and determination, we were able to pull it off and win an Olympic medal for the country. Hopefully, there will be more to come.”

Petecio said she won’t stop until she wins an Olympic gold — despite the fact that the inclusion of boxing in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 has yet to be confirmed.

“I am very positive that boxing will be included in the LA Olympics. Given the chance, I will do my best to win the gold medal for our country.”

Another recipient of the President’s Award, Olympic bronze medalist Aira Villegas, echoed Petecio’s statement, saying that she’s also honored to win one of the most prestigious awards in Philippine sports.

“I am honored to receive the (PSA) award. This is a big deal for me. It’s like winning another medal in the Olympics,” Villegas said.

Of course, the star of the night was gymnast Carlos Yulo who was feted with the Athlete of the Year award.

After failing to land a medal in the Tokyo Olympics, the 24-year-old Yulo stormed back with a vengeance, defying the great odds of having a broken relationship with his Japanese mentor and family to emerge with two gold medals against the best gymnasts in the world.

He ruled the floor exercise and vault events in dominant fashion, enough to become the runaway choice for this prestigious plum given by the men and women who cover the sports beat.

Actually, he is the second gymnast to be given the distinct honor. Prior to him, the oldest media organization had honored Pia Adelle Reyes, who won three gold medals in the 1997 Southeast Asian Games in women’s artistic gymnastics, as its Athlete of the Year nearly three decades ago.

Aside from Petecio, Villegas and Yulo, also honored during the blue-ribbon event that celebrated the country’s most successful participation in the Summer Games were the Olympians of past and present, including weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the first Filipino to win an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.

The 32-year-old daughter of a tricycle driver in Zamboanga City had been elevated to the PSA Hall of Fame, joining an elite cast of athletes like bowlers Olivia “Bong” Coo and Rafael “Paeng Nepomuceno, chess grand master Eugene Torre, pool idol Efren “Bata” Reyes, late international chess official Florencio Campomanes, and professional boxer Manny Pacquiao after being named as PSA Athlete of the Year in 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2022.

‘We know that it’s going to be a hard year for us but with hard work and determination, we were able to pull it off and win an Olympic medal for the country. Hopefully, there will be more to come.’

In a video message, she expressed gratitude to the PSA members who persistently covered her exploits starting when she was still an aspiring national team member competing in various age-group tournaments until becoming a bronze medalist in the Nakhon Ratchasima Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in 2007 and blossoming into an Olympic medalist in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Past Olympians also added glitter to the event. In fact, no less than former Senator Freddie Webb, a member of the fabled men’s basketball squads that saw action in the 1972 Munich Olympics, delivered the keynote address.

Joining Webb, who sported a gray blazer on top of his navy blue polo, were his fellow Olympians in Akiko Thomson-Guevarra, Monsour del Rosario, Marestella Torres-Sunang, Stephen Fernandez and Mary Joy Tabal-Jimenez.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino was feted with the Executive of the Year for his hands-on approach that led to a total of three gold, two silver and three bronze Olympic medals for the Filipinos while MVP Group of Companies was honored for its contributions in bankrolling the country’s sports program.