MANILA — “She fought the very good fight and is now at peace.” Thus announced the daughter of Lydia de Vega-Mercado, once dubbed as the “fastest woman in Asia,” who passed away after four long years of battle with cancer.

The announcement of De Vega’s demise was made by her daughter Stephanie “Paneng” Mercado-de Koenigswarter, a former La Salle volleyball player.

“On behalf of our family, it is with absolute grief that I announce the death of my mother, Lydia De Vega this evening, August 10, 2022, at the Makati Medical Center,” Koenigswarter said on Facebook.

Fondly called “Diay”, De Vega was once the fastest woman in Asia, winning the 100-meter gold medal in the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games and ruling the sprint double in the Asian Athletics Championship in 1983 and 1987.

She is also a nine-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist.

De Vega retired from active competition in 1994.

Diay’s last public appearance was when she served as one of the Philippines’ flag bearers during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremonies.