TO STEP foot on the Olympic stage is the summit of an athlete’s competitive career.
This dream-come-true opportunity doesn’t present itself to just anyone. It serves as the culmination of their long years of determination, slowly harvesting the fruits of their labor after enduring dispiriting setbacks and defeats.
Effortless it may seem, such a historic feat wasn’t attained through pure perseverance alone. For every Olympian, it required an unwavering morale, a reliable support system, and a steadfast drive to win each match.
Such a reality is no different for 29-year-old Filipino boxer Hergie Tao-Wag Bacyadan, who qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics on June 2, 2024 and become one of the 22 representatives to compete for the Philippines in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Makings of an Olympian
Prior to securing a ticket to the Olympics, Bacyadan first tested his luck in martial arts by joining the Philippine national wushu team in 2016.
A year later, he earned silver medals in the sport after participating in the 2017 Sanda Asian Cup in Foshan, China, and in the 2017 World Wushu Championships in Kazan, Russia.
This back-to-back podium finish marked the beginning of Bacyadan’s stellar track record.
He went on to master the martial art of Vovinam, one of Vietnam’s more popular combat sports, and played for the Philippines in the 2023 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Cambodia.
Bacyadan faced Vietnam’s Bui Thi Thao Ngan in the final match. The two fighters found themselves on equal footing throughout it all, so much so that the victor was decided through an anticlimactic drawing of lots, which favored the Vietnamese athlete in the end.
With another silver to his name, Bacyadan overcame his heartbreak in the World Vovinam Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where he dominated the competition after beating Russia’s Mariana Avdeenko to clinch the coveted gold medal, giving him the title of the country’s first champion in the sport.
In recognition, the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Commission on Women named Bacyadan as the best performer in vovinam during the Women in Sports Awards.
In protest of his remarkable success, the Russian national team campaigned to nullify Bacyadan’s victory, claiming that he competed as a “man” in the women’s division.
Bacyadan was quick to defend himself in an Instagram post and insisted that he was born female. He also asserted that he hadn’t undergone hormone replacement therapy or any surgical procedure, since he was aware that such measures would result in disqualification.
In an interview with Preview, Bacyadan was asked for his pronouns but the athlete left it to the hands of the interviewer. The article used he/him/his to refer to the boxer.
Bacyadan remains a world champion in Vovinam and continues to bring pride to the Philippines in the international arena.
Decisive blow
Faith was what jumpstarted Bacyadan’s road to the 2024 Summer Olympics.
It was Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and secretary general Atty. Wharton Chan who saw Bacyadan’s potential to qualify for the Olympics as a boxer.
Tolentino and Chan appealed to the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) to have the Kalinga native professionally trained in boxing.
Transitioning to another martial art in preparation for Paris 2024 proved to be no piece of cake for the athlete.
Despite months of persistent and rigorous practice, Bacyadan succumbed to the veteran jabs of Brazil Olympian Viviane Pereira in the boxer’s opening match in the first World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
It didn’t help that the athlete endured recurring allergies during the game, making it challenging for him to breathe throughout the fight.
Still, Bacyadan offered no excuses and vowed to bounce back in the second World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Filipino boxer climbed up the ranks with a composed demeanor, conquering Spain’s Dunia Martinez via unanimous decision, and elbowing Hungary’s Veronika Nakota after a neck-and-neck matchup.
Finally, Bacyadan swept Venezuela’s Maryelis Yriza in the women’s 75kg middleweight division with scores of 30-26, 30-26, 30-26, 29-27, 29-27, successfully reserving his dream Olympic seat.
Packs a punch
Despite boxing being a lone sport, Bacyadan draws strength from his loved ones and supporters in each fist he throws.
“Biggest motivation ko is ‘yung family ko, ‘yung tribo ko sa Kalinga, and ‘yung mga taong naniniwala sa akin na kaya kong mag-medal dito sa Paris Olympics,” Bacyadan said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum in Manila in June.
“Every time na pupunta ako ng mga competition, lagi ko silang tinatawagan na eto na, maglalaro na ulit ako, so pag-pray niyo ako,” Bacyadan shared in a separate interview with One Sports.
The athlete seeks to make history for not only the Philippines but for the LGBTQIA+ community as well.
Bacyadan told One Sports, “‘Yun ‘yung lagi kong bitbit, na anuman ang maging journey ko sa sports na ito ay lagi kong dala ‘yung pride.”
With Bacyadan’s three-match winning streak, much is to be anticipated for his performance in the City of Light.
“We feel he has a very good chance to podium and go all the way,” ABAP secretary-general Marcus Manalo discussed in the same PSA forum.
Manalo is also confident that this year’s boxing delegation—with Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas, and Carlo Paalam in the same roster as Bacyadan—has the best chance to snatch the elusive gold medal in the Olympics.
In a Preview article, Bacyadan received a “warrior blessing” from his tribe before competing in France. This is his way of honoring his Igorot origin in Kalinga through offerings, blessings from the elders in the community, and prayer.
In his debut match on a stage as prestigious as the Olympics, will Bacyadan’s warrior blood reign supreme in the ring?
