Famous Filipino Runners

MONA SULAIMAN
Before Lydia de Vega became known as Asia’s fastest woman, there was Mona
Sulaiman.
Born in Cotabato, Sulaiman’s potential as a track and field athlete was discovered when
a school official noticed her extraordinary speed while playing a softball game at her
school when she was only fifteen. Under the mentorship of coaches like the legendary
Ruperto Evangelista, Sulaiman honed her athletic skills and became the country’s and
Asia’s undisputed champion for several years.
A two-time Olympian, Sulaiman would earn her fame during the 1962 Asian Games in
Jakarta. There she became renowned for being the first Filipina to win three gold
medals in a single event, as well as being Asia’s first double-gold winner (she won the
100/200 meter dash). As if those weren’t enough, she also won a bronze in the shotput
event.
Unfortunately, controversy hounded the later part of Sulaiman’s career after she refused
to take part in a medical checkup during the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok under the
claim it went against her Muslim faith. As a result of her refusal, allegations arose that
she was actually a man although she denied such an accusation.
LYDIA DE VEGA
Lydia placed the Philippines on the map in 1982 Asian Games demolishing all
competitors in the 100-meter dash, thereby earning the moniker “fastest woman in
Asia”. She topped the feat in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games winning gold in the 100-
meter and silver in the 200-meter race.
Lydia de Vega-Mercado (born December 12, 1964) is a former athlete from

the Philippines, was considered Asia's fastest woman in the 1980s. De Vega first made
an impact at the 1981 SEA Games held in Manila with gold medal performances in the
200 and 400 meter events. As Asia's sprint queen, she ran away with the gold medal in
the 100-meter dash in the 1982 New Delhi Asiadand duplicated the feat in the
1986 Seoul Asiad where she was clocked 11.53 seconds. She also brought home a
silver medal in the 200-meter race from the 1986 Seoul Asiad.
De Vega-Mercado won the gold in the 100 meters at the Southeast Asian Games
(1987, 1991 and 1993). She also topped the 200 meter event in 1981, 1983, 1987 and
1993. She has twice won both the 100 and 200 meter golds in the Asian Athletics
Championships - 1983 and 1987. She holds both Philippine and Southeast Asian
records with her personal best of 11.28 seconds.
Diay, as she is fondly called by her countrymen was a two-time Olympian, having
carried the country's colors in the 1984 (Los Angeles) and 1988 (Seoul) Olympics.
De Vega served as a councilor of her native Meycauayan town in Bulacan province. As
of 2005, she was coaching schools and private athletes in Singapore.
EDUARDO BUENAVISTA
Eduardo Buenavista (born 13 October 1978 in General Santos City, South

Cotabato) is a Filipino long-distance runner and two-time Olympian. He holds
the Philippine record for multiple long distance events.
His best marathon time is 2:18:44 hours. He also holds the Philippine 5000
metres record of 13 minutes, 58 seconds, and performed the 10,000 metres in 29:02.36
minutes.
"Vertek", as called by his friends and the media, finished 67th in the 2004 Athens
Olympic marathon. He was a silver medallist in the23rd Southeast Asian Games in the
10,000m run. He has also won many road races in the Philippines, distance races on
previous South East Asian Games the Adidas King of the Road in South Korea and the
Adidas King of the Road 2012 in Singapore.
ELMA MUROS
Elma Muros-Posadas (born January 14, 1967 in Magdiwang, Romblon)

is Filipina former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump.
Alongside Lydia de Vega, she is one of the foremost track and field athletes produced
by the Philippines.
Muros-Posadas won a total of 15 gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games, a record
number in the athletics competition which she jointly holds with Jennifer Tin Lay. Elma
Muros won eight South East Asian Games titles in the long jump the first at the age of
16 in 1983. At one point, she also dominated the sprints winning both the 100 and 200
metres in the 1995 Southeast Asian Games.
She was also a competitor for the Philippines in the long jump event at the Olympic
Games in 1984 and 1996. She represented her country at the World Championships in
Athletics on four occasions: in the 400 m hurdles in 1991, the long jump in 1995 and
1997, and the 100 metres in 1997. She was also a five-time participant at the IAAF
World Indoor Championships, competing in 1985, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1997 in sprints
and long jump.
She was a two-time medallist at the Asian Games, taking the long jump bronze medal at
the 1994 Games as well as a 400 metres hurdles bronze medal in 1990. She won four
medals in the long jump at the Asian Athletics Championships over the course of her
career, winning silver medals in 1983 and 1989, then bronze medals at
the 1993 and 1995 editions.
She holds several Filipino records: 57.57 seconds for the 400 m hurdles, 5346 points for
the heptathlon (set at the 1998 Asian Games), 3:40.9 minutes for the 4×400 metres
relay, 25.05 seconds for the indoor 200 metres and 6.11 m for the indoor long jump.
She was a two-time PSA Sportsman of the Year, winning the award in 1993 and
1995. She attended Far Eastern University in Manila.
Since her retirement Muros-Posadas has appeared several times on the reality
television show Survivor Philippines.
SIMEON TORIBIO
Simeon G. Toribio (3 September 1905 – 5 June 1969) was a Filipino track and
field athlete, an Olympic medalist, a lawyer, and a congressional representative
of Bohol.
Toribio specialized in the high jump event and represented the Philippines in various
international track and field competitions. He won gold medals in high jump in five
stagings of the Far Eastern Championship Games (1921, 1923, 1927, 1930, and 1934).
He also represented the Philippines in three consecutive Olympic Games, starting in
1928 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The crowning glory of his track and field career
came when he won the bronze medal in high jump at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los
Angeles, USA. His bronze medal-winning jump saw him clearing a height of 1.97
meters.
Various awards and distinctions were given to Toribio in the course of his career,
including being named "Asia's Best Athlete" for his achievements in the Far Eastern
Championship Games. In 1930, Toribio was also awarded the Helms World Trophy for
being Asia's greatest athlete.
Toribio graduated from Siliman University and soon became a lawyer. He served as the
representative of the second district of Bohol from 1941 to 1953.
MIGUEL WHITE
Miguel S. White (October 9, 1909 – August 30, 1942) was a Filipino track and
field athlete of Filipino-American descent who competed for the Philippines in the 400
metre hurdles at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany, winning a bronze
medal in the process.
White was from Legazpi, Albay. He was killed in military action during the Japanese
occupation of the Philippines.

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MONA SULAIMAN

Lydia de Vega-Mercado (born December 12, 1964) is a former athlete from

Eduardo Buenavista (born 13 October 1978 in General Santos City, South

Elma Muros-Posadas (born January 14, 1967 in Magdiwang, Romblon)

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