Meet boxer Nesthy Petecio, who won a bronze medal at the Olympics

WHILE SOME may just be finding out about featherweight boxer and two-time Olympic medalist Nesthy Alcayde Petecio, she has long been showing the world just what she can do.

The boxer recently bagged a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics’ Women’s Boxing 57-Kilogram semifinal. Before winning at the Paris Olympics, the 32-year-old bagged a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

This made her the first-ever Filipina to win an Olympic medal in boxing. GLAAD also notes that this made her the first Filipina to have won an Olympic medal since 1996.

More than this, however, Petecio has reportedly been competing since she was only nine years old.

As per ABS-CBN News, Petecio has competed in over 70 fights within the boxing ring. 

While Teodoro Petecio, Nesthy’s father, has said that she may not be able to compete in the following Olympics due to the age limit being 40 years old, people are sure to see her talents in other boxing tournaments.

It’s safe to say that everyone’s going to be seeing a lot more of Petecio’s boxing prowess in the years to come. 

Petecio’s journey thus far

In an interview with the Go Hard Girls podcast, Petecio discussed how growing up, her father worked as a farmer, and her mother, a housewife. Petecio would spend her days picking up chicken droppings, which they would sell to others as fertilizer. 

She stated that at the time, they had nothing, even borrowing money from others just so they could buy food. 

She would later on start joining inter-barangay competitions to afford their meals, and it was then that she realized that boxing was her way out of poverty. 

At just 11 years old, she was competing in boxing matches. In one match, she’d even been paired up with a man, solely because no other women had joined. Despite their difference in size, Petecio still managed to bag a win. 

It was through boxing that Petecio was able to go to college, win silver medals at the 2011 and 2013 Sea Games, and then finally win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, then later on, the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Overcoming challenges

Despite her success, Petecio has faced many challenges thus far, such as failure to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. She also didn’t win a medal at the 2018 Asian Games, which led to Petecio battling severe anxiety and depression for seven months. 

In an interview with Olympics.com, she said that it was that loss at the Asian Games that made her want to stop. She contemplated looking for options and felt immense depression and stress. 

She then took a break from boxing to focus on bettering her emotional and mental health, which has done wonders for her career ever since, as seen in her recent wins.

For Petecio, the only way to go from here is up.

Confusion over last match

During her last match at the Olympics against Poland’s Julia Szeremeta last August 8th, Petecio admits that she was confused by the final verdict. 

One Sports Philippines reports that the scores were almost tied toward the final round. Petecio also believed that she’d landed clearer punches compared to Szeremeta, but ultimately the win was given to the latter. 

In an interview with One Sports, Petecio said: “Sobrang labo talaga, pero ‘yun nakikita nila eh so wala tayong magagawa. Pero grabe, wala siyang clear punch sa third round. Yung mga body shots, yung mga hook ko, pumapasok eh. Ewan ko, hindi ko alam anong nangyari.”

She adds that she’d been cautioned by the referee numerous times, which she was also confused about.

Despite this, Petecio still managed to win a bronze for the Philippines; no matter the final verdict, she has made her country very proud.