Back-to-back Olympic medalist and Davao del Sur pride Nesthy Petecio will receive the President’s Award during the 2024 San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards ceremony at the Manila Hotel Grand Ballroom on Jan. 27.
Petecio, a native of Sta. Cruz, delivered a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, adding to the two gold medals from gymnast Carlos Yulo in the men’s floor exercise and vault events.
Another boxer Aira Villegas, who also won an Olympic bronze, will join Petecio in the awards ceremony.
For his historic achievement, Yulo will be feted with the highest honor as 2024 Athlete of the Year during the proceedings co-presented by ArenaPlus, Cignal, and MediaQuest.
Petecio got the bronze in the women’s 57kg division, while Villegas bagged the same color in the 50kg class.
“They may have missed the biggest prize in the 2024 Olympics, but nonetheless deserve high accolades with their own bright moments in the Paris Games, providing extra push in the glorious Philippine performance — a great highlight in the country’s centennial year of participation in the Summer Games,” PSA president Nelson Beltran, sports editor of The Philippine Star, said in a news release Monday.
The bronze in Paris was the second Olympic medal for the 32-year-old Petecio, who bagged the silver at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
She became the first Filipino boxer to win back-to-back medals in the quadrennial event.
Villegas, 29, debuted at the Paris Olympics and was an underdog in the five-member Philippine boxing team.
Executive of the Year, major awardees in other sports, Mr. Basketball both in the professional and amateur ranks, Ms. Volleyball, and the regular Tony Siddayao Awards for athletes under 17 years old will also be given out in the ceremony supported by Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, PLDT/Smart, Senator Bong Go, Januarius Holdings, PBA, 1-Pacman Party List, AcroCity, PVL, Akari, and Rain or Shine.
Philippine Olympians and Paralympians will also be recognized while another iconic Filipino athlete is set to be enshrined in the PSA Hall of Fame. (PNA)
