World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo, boxer Nesthy Petecio, and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz will lead the gold medalists of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games honored by the nation’s sportswriters.
The Philippine Sportswriter Association (PSA) announced on February 27, 2020, that Yulo, Petecio, and Diaz, and 136 other gold medalists will be feted during the SMC-PSA Annual Awards Night slated next week at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel.
Team Philippines, after delivering a remarkable finish at the 30th SEA Games winning the Overall Championship with 149 gold medals, 117 silvers, and 119 bronzes, will be accorded with the prestigious Athlete of the Year Award at the March 6 event.
Carlos Edriel Yulo won his first SEA Games gold in the Men’s All-Around Event on Day 1 of the regional games held in the Philippines from November to December 2019. Yulo also won two silvers in the pommel horse and still rings during the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics finals held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Yulo has qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and was featured on the 2019 World Champions Series of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
Nesthy Petecio bagged the gold in the Women’s Boxing Featherweight division of the 30th SEA Games. Petecio is the reigning AIBA World Featherweight Women’s Champion who captured the title in Russia last October 2019.
Rio Olympian weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz Oly bagged her first-ever SEA Games gold as she lifted 91 kilograms in the Snatch event and 120 kgs. in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 211 kgs. in the 55-kg weight division of the biennial games. Diaz swept the women’s 55-kilogram events to win 3 gold medals at the Roma 2020 Weightlifting World Cup held in January.
“The Filipino contingent led by world champions Carlos Yulo and Nesthy Petecio along with Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, bagged a total record of 149 golds when the country hosted and regained the overall title of the biennial meet after 14 years,” said the PSA.
Arnis produced the most number of golds won during the SEA Games with a total of 14, followed by athletics with 11, and dancesport with 10.
Apart from the SEA Games gold winners,18 personalities and entities are also going to be cited by the country’s oldest media organizations for their achievements and support to Philippine sports in the year that was.
The list includes boxers Eumir Marcial, Josie Gabuco, and Pedro Taduran, undefeated UAAP men’s basketball champion Ateneo and NCAA counterpart Letran, Jones Cup winner Mighty Sports, bowler Merwin Tan, mixed martial arts star Joshua Pacio, fencer Samantha Catantan, grandmaster John Paul Gomez, darts player Lourence Ilagan, and Estafano Rivera of motorsports.
Other awardees still to be named are the MILO Junior Athletes of the Year, the Chooks-To-Go Fan Favorite, and the Tony Siddayao awards.
There will also be a posthumous recognition to be given to sports personalities who passed away in 2019.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to Carlos Yulo, Nesthy Petecio, Hidilyn Diaz, and all the gold medalists of the 30th SEA Games!
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