Out Filipina Boxer Nesthy Petecio Dedicates Olympic Medal To LGBTQ Community

The Olympic Games in Tokyo  made history for the LGBTQI+ sporting community once again, with 29-year-old Out Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio winning a silver medal in boxing – the first Filipino boxer since 1996 to  make the podium at the Olympic Games. 

Following her silver medal win, Petecio made a heartfelt speech saying, “I am  proud to be part of the LGBTQ community. Let’s go, fight! This fight is also for  the LGBTQ community,” according to the Filipino news outlet,  Inquirer.  

"I am proud to be part of the LGBTQ community. Sulong, laban! Para rin po sa LGBTQ community ang laban na ‘to." –Nesthy Petecio, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist (featherweight) #Tokyo2020 | @ftjochoaINQ pic.twitter.com/tE61l2wwNb

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) August 3, 2021

A Dream Come True

“This whole experience is incomparable, because I won a medal in my very  first Olympics. This is easily the most unforgettable moment of my life. I was  only expecting a bronze, but I got a silver. The Lord is amazing,” Petecio told  the Philippine Sportswriters Association at a press conference last week. 

Petecio was also quoted by Filipino news outlet Rappler as saying, “No  matter what our gender is, as long as we have a dream, we fight. Ignore  people who bring you down and the things they say.” 

Petecio lost the gold medal match to Japan’s Sena Irie (Japan’s first ever  female boxing medalist). Competing in the Women’s Featherweight (54-57  kg) final on Tuesday, Petecio was bested in an unanimous 5-0 decision by  Irie.

It was the first time the Women’s Featherweight Division has been  included as an Olympic medal event. Petecio’s teammate Irish Magno  (competing in the flyweight division) is also out lesbian. 

Being named to the Filipino Olympic Boxing team was a dream come true for  Petecio. “For me, all the golds I’ve won in the world [championships] and  international, everything’s useless if I don’t get to compete in the Olympics.  This is the peak of every athlete…being an athlete won’t be complete until I  compete in the Olympics,” Petecio told Filipino sportscaster, Noli Eala on his  show Power & Play. 

Petecio’s dream of making it to the Olympics was hard fought. She failed to  qualify for the team for the 2016 Games in Rio and almost missed out on the  Games following her loss (once again, to Irie) in the quarterfinals of the Asia Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in Amman, Jordan in  March 2020.

Petecio, however, was named to the Filipino Olympic boxing  team in March 2021, based upon holding the highest rank in her weight  category. 

Look at Nesthy Petecio during her awarding 😭 pic.twitter.com/9qZhEge8sL

— Chels 🌻 (@ChelsToleds) August 3, 2021

A Long Journey

Petecio’s journey to the podium started at seven years old, when she began  training with her father Teodoro, who trained her older brother and  neighbours. Petecio initially learned to box as a means of self-defence and later as a means to help support her impoverished family, who used to collect  chicken droppings to sell for fertiliser.  

Speaking to Rappler, Petecio said, “My father forced me to take it up. It got to  the point where I would cry because I didn’t want to train.”

Her initial  reluctance fell away and at eleven years old she fought a boy bigger and  more experienced than her. She made the national team in 2007, and since  then has earned nine career medals, a World Championship title, and three  silver medals at the Southeast Asian Games. 

Looking To Paris 2024

“This means so much to me as not only is it my dream, it is my father’s  dream,” said Petecio, after winning her Olympic semi-final match over Irma Testa of Italy. 

Boxing is one of the most popular sports in the Philippines and half of the  country’s 12 medals have been won in the sport.

Petecio’s Olympic efforts  have reportedly been handsomely rewarded with gifts of a condominium, a  house, five years of free flights, and cash incentives with 17 million pesos  (456,000 Australian dollars) according to Outsports.

Philippine Airlines, the  country’s national carrier celebrated Petecio’s efforts in a Facebook post  saying, “Your silver win showed the heart of a strong Filipina to the world!  Thank you for making the country proud.” 

Petecio now is focusing her efforts on the next Olympic Games, to be held in  Paris 2024, where she hopes to win a gold medal. “My Olympic journey will  continue,” she said at a press conference. “Who knows, maybe in Paris right?  I’ll continue the fight.”