Nesthy Petecio Explained

Nesthy Petecio
Real Name:Nesthy Alcayde Petecio
Weight Class:Featherweight
Nationality:Filipino
Height:1.58 m[1]
Birth Date:1992 4, mf=yes
Birth Place:Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, Philippines
Boxrec:885565
Show-Medals:yes

Nesthy Alcayde Petecio (born April 11, 1992)[1] is a Filipino amateur boxer. She won a silver medal in the inaugural women's featherweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Filipino woman to win an Olympic medal in boxing.[2] She also won a silver medal at the 2014 World Championships and gold at the 2019 edition.[3]

Early life and education

Nesthy Petecio was born in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur to parents Teodoro Petecio and Prescilla Alcayde.[4] [5] Petecio came from a poor family; her father was a farmer while her mother is a housewife. At a young age, Nesthy and her siblings had to aid their parents in the farm to earn a living. She recalled selling manure as fertilizer just to earn money.[6] [7] According to Petecio, boxing paved the way for her to attend Rizal Technological University for higher education despite financial problems, and she considers it her "way out of poverty."[7] In 2019, she graduated with an associate degree from the University of Baguio's School of International Hospitality and Tourism Management.[8]

Amateur career

Early years

Nesthy Petecio and her siblings were taught boxing as a means of self-defense. Petecio and her siblings went on to join inter-barangay boxing competitions to help their family financially.[5] [9]

Petecio had a big break in her boxing career at age 11, when she joined a boxing match at the Araw ng Davao in Rizal Park, Davao City. Although competitions were usually arranged by gender, Petecio's opponent was male with a bigger build and more experience than herself. However she was able to win the match, which drew the attention of Celestino Rebamonte who in turn endorsed her to the Philippine women's team coach Roel Velasco.[9] She was then able to compete at the 2007 Smart National Youth and Women’s Open Boxing Championships in Cagayan de Oro where she won gold. As a result she earned her a berth in the national boxing team.[7]

National team

Representing the Philippines, Petecio went on to compete in several international competitions. She clinched silver medals at the 2014 AIBA Women's World Championships and the 2011 and 2013 Southeast Asian Games; a bronze medal in the 2012 Asian Championships; and a gold medal in the 2015 Indonesia President’s Cup[7]

She would also compete in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, the 2015 and 2017 Asian Championships but fail to make a podium finish. She also failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[10] Failing to medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia and dealing with the aftermath of ending a relationship with a girlfriend, Petecio experienced a bout of depression.[9]

After a break, Petecio made a comeback by winning a gold at the 2019 Thailand Open International Boxing Championship.[9] At the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Petecio won gold in the featherweight division after defeating hometown bet Liudmila Vorontsova in the final.[11] She ended the year with another gold medal, this time at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. It was a sweet victory for Petecio after failing to bring home the top prize in the biennial meet in her three previous attempts.

Petecio was able to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan due to her high ranking, after the world qualifiers was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] Competing in the women's featherweight event, Petecio's first fight was a 5:0 victory against Marcelat Sakobi Matshu of the Democratic Republic of Congo.[13] In her next bout Petecio defeated Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei (3:2) to advance to the quarterfinals,[14] where she defeated Yeni Arias of Columbia (5:0) to secure at least a bronze medal and become the first woman to win a medal in Olympic boxing.[15] [16] She then defeated Irma Testa of Italy (4:1) in the semifinals to secure her place in the gold medal bout.[17] Facing her amateur rival Sena Irie in the final, Petecio lost by unanimous decision (0:5) to take home the silver medal, the first Olympic boxing medal won by a Filipino boxer in 25 years.[18] [19]

Results

2014 Asian Games results
2015 World Championships results
2019 World Championships results
2020 Summer Olympics results

2024 Summer Olympics results

Personal life

Nesthy Petecio is openly lesbian. She dedicated her Olympic silver medal to the LGBTQ community.[20]

In August 2024, the Philippine Coast Guard's Ronnie Gil Gavan announced that after claiming her bronze medal, petty officer second class Petecio will be promoted to petty officer first class.[21]

In popular media

In 2021, Petecio made a virtual appearance in Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10 when she gave a message to the Celebrity housemates, and declaring the Pinoy Big Brother Games 2021 open.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PETECIO, Nesthy . Tokyo 2020 Olympics . July 15, 2021 . en-us . July 15, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210715100809/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/boxing/athlete-profile-n1464216-petecio-nesthy.htm . dead .
  2. Web site: Giongco. Mark. August 3, 2021. Nesthy Petecio takes home Olympic silver in boxing. August 3, 2012. Inquirer.
  3. Web site: Songalia. Ryan. October 13, 2019. Nesthy Petecio rebounds from college slump, wins gold at World Championships. August 3, 2021. The Ring.
  4. News: Saberon-Abalayan . Marianne . Petecio excited . July 16, 2021 . Sunstar . July 16, 2021 . English.
  5. News: Canoy . Jeff . WATCH: Petecio family celebrates Nesthy's winning moment . July 30, 2021 . ABS-CBN News . July 28, 2021 . en.
  6. News: For Filipina fighter Nesthy Petecio, boxing is her way out of poverty. July 30, 2021 . GMA News Online . July 27, 2021 . en.
  7. News: Olivares . Rick . Nesthy Petecio holds her head high despite Olympic Qualifying loss . July 30, 2021 . Rappler . March 30, 2016 . en.
  8. Web site: Leongson . Randolph . 2021-08-17 . How PH boxers juggled country, school duties at University of Baguio . 2024-08-13 . Spin.ph . en.
  9. News: Grana . Rhia . The painful loss that broke Nesthy Petecio, and how she found her way back punching . July 30, 2021 . ANCX . ABS-CBN . July 29, 2021 . en.
  10. News: Davao del Sur's Petecio is AIBA Women's World Boxing champ . July 30, 2021 . MindaNews . October 14, 2019.
  11. News: Villar . Joey . Petecio rules the world, too . October 14, 2019 . Philippine Star . October 14, 2019.
  12. News: Giongco . Mark . Olympic qualification dream come true for Petecio . July 30, 2021 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . April 14, 2021 . en.
  13. Web site: Masoy. Niel Victor C.. July 26, 2021. Petecio eyes quarterfinals as Paalam debuts. August 7, 2021. The Manila Times.
  14. Web site: Pamintuan. Carlo. July 26, 2021. Petecio takes down top-seed to stay in medal hunt. August 7, 2021. ESPN.
  15. Web site: Giongco. Mark. July 28, 2021. Nesthy Petecio assured of Olympics bronze, ousts Colombian foe. August 7, 2021. Inquirer.net.
  16. Web site: July 31, 2021. Olympic women's boxing is bigger, deeper in Tokyo. August 7, 2021. The Manila Times.
  17. Web site: Ventura. Sid. July 31, 2021. Nesthy Petecio takes split decision, advances to gold medal match. August 7, 2021. ESPN.
  18. Web site: Songalia. Ryan. August 2, 2021. Sena Irie outpoints Nesthy Petecio, wins inaugural women's featherweight Olympic gold. August 7, 2021. The Ring.
  19. Web site: Boxer Nesthy Petecio bags silver for PH in women's featherweight. August 3, 2021. cnn. en. August 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210803044951/https://www.cnnphilippines.com/sports/2021/8/3/Nesthy-Petecio-silver-medal-Tokyo-2020-Olympics.html. dead.
  20. Web site: Spocchia. Gino. August 6, 2021. Lesbian Filipino boxer dedicates silver medal to LGBT+ community. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/lesbian-boxer-medal-nesthy-petecio-b1897613.html . June 18, 2022 . subscription. live. August 7, 2021. The Independent.
  21. News: Sadongdong . Martin . PCG hails Olympians Nesthy Petecio, Elreen Ando; Gerald Anderson gets medal for heroism. August 10, 2024 . Binondodate=August 9, 2024.
  22. November 16, 2021 . PBB Updates Mensahe ni Olympic Silver Medalist Nesthy Petecio sa mga kalahok sa PBB Games 2021 . . . December 21, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211119022057/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FejgJsmJoE . November 19, 2021 . live.