Team Philippines secured 52 golds, 70 silvers, and 104 bronze medals while establishing new records to rank 4th overall in the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) which wrapped up in Hanoi, Vietnam today, May 23.
Basketball, boxing, and martial arts won gold medals for the country during the final stretch of competitions at the biennial meet with host nation Vietnam leading the final medal standings among 11 participating countries.
Filipino boxers Rogen Ladon, Ian Clark Bautista, and Eumir Marcial all delivered big wins for the Philippines as the Gilas Pilipinas Women’s Basketball squad successfully defended their crown in the regional games.
The Gilas Pilipinas Women concluded their campaign with a 4-1 record to retain the gold medal title they won in the 2019 SEA Games, despite suffering a loss in their last game against Malaysia.
Muay Thai fighter Phillip “El Kapitan” Delarmino gave the country its last gold after a successful protest over hometown favorite Nguyen Doan Long of Vietnam awarded him the championship match.
Several Filipino athletes saw action and asserted their dominance in the 31st SEA Games despite the country’s unsuccessful overall crown defense, ending decades-old medal droughts with their impressive finishes and breaking records as they ruled their respective events.
Filipino athletes won golds in disciplines such as artistic gymnastics, athletics, bowling, dancesport, duathlon and triathlon events, fencing, kickboxing, martial arts events, pole vault, and swimming, among many others.
Here are the highlights of some of the nation’s top gold-winning athletes in the 2021 SEA Games:
The Philippines’ Olympians, led by the first Filipino Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, reasserted their dominance in the Southeast Asian Games. Diaz reigned supreme in the Weightlifting Women’s 55kg event of the 31st SEA Games, her first major competition of the year since her historic 2020 Tokyo Olympics campaign.
Watch Hidilyn Diaz lift her way into another gold at the 31st SEA Games here:
Filipino Olympic medalist in boxing Eumir Marcial, claimed Team Philippines’ third straight boxing gold medal after winning his bout with Delio Anzaqeci of Timor-Leste in the Men’s 75kg Finals. Boxers Rogen Ladon and Ian Clark Bautista also won gold medals in their respective matches.
World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo emerged as the country’s most bemedaled athlete in the Hanoi SEA Games. He won five golds and two silver medals as he wrapped up his SEA Games campaign on May 16. Yulo reigned in the vault and horizontal bar events and previously topped the individual all-around, floor exercise, and still rings events.
Watch Caloy Yulo’s winning routine here:
World champion pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena defended his Southeast Asian men’s pole vault gold as he set a new Southeast Asian Games record of 5.46 meters at the biennial meet. Obiena was the Philippines’ flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the Hanoi SEA Games which kicked off on May 12.
Watch EJ Obiena set a new Southeast Asian Games record here!
The following are some notable finishes of Filipino athletes that set new records or ended medal droughts for the Philippines in the 31st SEA Games:
Swimmer Chloe Isleta ended a 29-year SEA Games women’s swimming gold medal drought for the Philippines by ruling the Women’s 200m Backstroke event.
Teen weightlifter Vanessa Sarno won her first SEA Games gold in record-breaking fashion. She delivered the gold medal as she set three new Southeast Asian Games records at the meet.
Watch Vanessa Sarno set three new Southeast Asian Games records here!
Merwin Tan snapped an 11-year drought for the Philippines after winning a gold medal in bowling in the Men’s Singles event. Tan was later joined by teammates Ivan Malig, Patrick Nuqui, and Patrick Dychangco, adding another gold to the country’s medal tally in the discipline as they ruled the men’s bowling team final four.
The Philippine women’s national football team won bronze as they ended a 37-year medal drought in the 31st Southeast Asian Games with a 2-1 comeback victory over Myanmar.
Watch the Philippine women’s national football team clinch their first podium finish since 1985 here!
Team Philippines’ final medal tally
Team Philippines ends its 31st SEA Games campaign in fourth place with a medal total of 226 in the final medal standings of the biennial meet led by host nation Vietnam.
The Philippine delegation landed fourth with 52 golds, 70 silvers, and 104 bronze medals, behind Indonesia and Thailand, which came in third and second place, respectively, among 11 countries.
Team Philippines was the former overall champion of the SEA Games which was hosted on home soil in 2019 when the country tallied 149 golds, 117 silvers, and 121 bronze medals – the biggest gold and overall medal haul for the Philippines in any Southeast Asian Games competition.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to Team Philippines’ athletes for securing 52 golds, 70 silvers, and 104 bronze medals while establishing new records to rank fourth overall in the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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