THE RECENTLY concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympics was the most successful Olympic stint in Philippine history as the nation garnered a record four medals and its first Olympic gold. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the first-ever gold medal for the Philippines in the Olympic Games, while silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam and bronze medalist Eumir Marcial added to the historical medal haul.

As a sum of the hurdles, setbacks, and triumphs they faced in becoming the Philippines’ most successful delegation in the Summer Olympics, these Filipino Olympians deserve to have their stories told.

Hidilyn Diaz

Diaz’s quest to bag the gold medal was an arduous but upward climb. Her first Olympic appearance was in the women’s -58 kg weightlifting event at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, where she lifted 192 kg total and finished 11th out of 12 competitors.

Success continued to elude Diaz in the same event at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, where she was unable to finish following three unsuccessful attempts lifting 118 kg in the clean and jerk.

The momentum changed when Diaz dropped to the women’s -53 kg weightlifting event in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. As a result, she lifted 88 kg in the snatch and 112 kg in the clean and jerk—clinching silver, the country’s first podium finish in 20 years.

However, Diaz faced more obstacles on her journey to the pinnacle of her sport. Throughout her Olympic preparation, she struggled with issues such as insufficient financial support, lack of access to proper gyms, and the inclusion of her name in a matrix of individuals allegedly intent on ousting the administration. These challenges did not deter Diaz as she went on to set Olympic records with 127 kg in the clean and jerk and 224 kg total, locking up the gold medal.

The historic finish brought home the country’s first-ever Olympic gold, as Filipinos all over the world made their pride known on social media. Immediately following her record-breaking lift, a teary-eyed Diaz exclaimed: “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas (Long live the Philippines)!”

Nesthy Petecio

Nesthy Petecio began her pursuit for boxing early in her childhood, when she sold fertilizer and picked up her gloves in inter-barangay competitions just to survive. At the age of 11, she competed in the Araw ng Davao competition, where she caught the attention of the national team by defeating a bigger and more experienced male boxer.

Petecio’s early stint with the National Team produced mixed results. Success was achieved when she clinched silver medals at the 2014 International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Championships, and the 2011 and 2013 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. However, Petecio’s climb to the top was abound with challenges after she failed to win medals in the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games or qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Her loss at the 2018 Asian Games and other troubles in her personal life prompted Petecio to take time off the ring.

After her break, Petecio hit the ground running by winning gold in the 2019 AIBA World Championships and the 2019 SEA Games. By then, Petecio ranked fifth in the world women’s featherweight rankings, which ultimately resulted in her first-ever Olympic berth in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Finally competing in the Olympics, Petecio started strong with a win against the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Marcelat Sakobi via unanimous decision in her opening match. She followed this up with a victory in the round of 16 match versus the world No.1—Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-Ting—through split decision, 3-2.

Carrying momentum from two impressive victories, Petecio clinched a podium finish in her quarterfinal victory via unanimous decision against Colombia’s Yeni Arias. Advancing to the semifinals, Petecio faced off against the much-taller Irma Testa of Italy which eventually resulted in a thrilling split decision win after a tightly-contested match.

With the gold medal on the line, Petecio matched up against Japan’s Sena Irie—whose defensive style kept the Filipino at bay—resulting in Petecio bowing out via unanimous decision. By bringing home the silver medal for the Philippines, Petecio became the first Filipino woman to achieve a podium finish in Olympic boxing.

Carlo Paalam

For Paalam, the beginning of his road to the Summer Olympics was filled with adversity. When Paalam was six, his mother left the family and his father took him and his siblings from Balingoan to Cagayan de Oro City. As a seven-year-old in Cagayan de Oro, Paalam helped put food on the table in two ways: Competing in “Boxing at the Park” competitions and scavenging landfills. This lifestyle continued until Paalam was nine and was discovered by the local government’s boxing program, which eventually covered his lodging and monthly allowances.

By the time he was 15, Paalam left the local boxing program and joined the National Team to compete in international competitions. Paalam was remarkably successful in these tournaments, winning bronze medals at the 2016 AIBA Youth Asian Championships, 2016 AIBA World Championships, the 2018 Asian Games, and a gold medal in the 2019 SEA Games. 

Paalam’s international success carried him to world rank No. 12, the highest of those not yet qualified in the Asia/Oceania region. Similar to Petecio, Paalam’s world ranking qualified him for his first Summer Olympics in the Men’s flyweight as qualifications were awarded across different regions following the cancellation of the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

In the Olympics, the Filipino began his run by outlasting Ireland’s Brendan Irvine in the round of 32 through a split 4-1 decision by the judges. The victory was then followed up by a convincing win via unanimous decision against Algeria’s Mohammed Flissi, securing Paalam a spot in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals featured a bout against Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov, which Paalam won via 4-0 decision after the match abruptly ended in the second round due to a head collision between the boxers. 

Two days later, Paalam faced Japan’s Ryomei Tanaka—who he defeated handily via 5-0 unanimous decision—in the semifinals, thus securing a spot in the Olympic Final. Great Britain’s Galal Yafai stood as the final obstacle in Paalam’s quest to clinch the Philippines’ second gold medal. The match was tightly contested, with Yafai edging out Paalam via split decision, 4-1. Paalam’s silver medal finish was the first by a Filipino in Men’s boxing since Onyok Velasco in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Eumir Marcial

Philippine boxing’s bronze medalist also faced a difficult road en route to his triumph, given the devastating loss of Marcial’s 39-year old brother in 2020. Suddenly responsible for his brother’s six children, Eumir needed to motivate himself more in the boxing ring in order to support his now fatherless nephews and nieces.

Unlike Petecio and Paalam, Marcial did not qualify through rankings and instead competed in the Men’s middleweight division of the Asia/Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament. In the final match of his impressive run, Marcial overpowered Mongolia’s Byamba-Erden Otgonbaatar, making him the first Filipino boxer to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Marcial began his Olympic stint in the round of 16 where he faced off against Algeria’s Younes Nemouchi—who he would dispatch in a match that prematurely ended in the first round after a clash of heads by the competitors. Marcial then faced Armenia’s Arman Darchinyan in the quarterfinal, and the Zamboanga native asserted his dominance as he ended the match with a knockout in the first round to punch his ticket to the semifinals.

With a finals spot at stake, Marcial faced off against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak. In a nail-biting affair, the Filipino fell to Khyzhniak in a 3-2 split decision by the judges. Marcial’s run ended with him bagging the bronze medal, adding to the country’s historic medal count.

New heights

The 2020 Summer Olympics was marked by several firsts and records broken by the Philippines. With four medals overall, including the first gold medal, the first Filipina to medal in Olympic boxing, and the first Men’s boxing medalists since 1996, it was incontestably the country’s best performance in the Summer Olympics.

Each medalist overcame several challenges on their unique journeys not only in the competition but throughout most of their lives, and it prepared them to reach the milestones achieved in the 2020 Summer Olympics.