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Out Boxer Nesthy Petecio Dedicates Olympic Medal to LGBTQ+ Community
Out Boxer Nesthy Petecio Dedicates Olympic Medal to LGBTQ+ Community
Petecio is the first woman from the Philippines to medal in boxing at the Olympics.
Out Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio dedicated her silver medal in Olympic Women's Featherweight Boxing to the LGBTQ+ community after losing to Japan's Sena Irie on Tuesday.
Petecio became the first woman from the Philippines to win a medal in a boxing competition at the Olympics and the first person from the Philippines to win a boxing medal since 1996, reported Out Sports.
The boxer wept as she raised her silver medal on the Olympic podium.
\u201cLook at Nesthy Petecio during her awarding \ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Chels \ud83c\udf3b (@Chels \ud83c\udf3b) 1627967463
After congratulating Irie on her win, Petecio flexed her right arm and pointed to the flag of the Philippines on her outfit. "I'm very honored to represent the Philippines," she said, according to ESPN.
"I cried earlier because I wanted to dedicate the gold to coach Nolito [Velasco]," she said. "We came up short, but I did my best in the ring."
She told reporters that her medal was for the LGBTQ+ community.
"I am proud to be part of the LGBTQ community," Petecio said, according to Filipino outlet The Inquirer. "This fight is also for the LGBTQ community."
\u201c"I am proud to be part of the LGBTQ community. Sulong, laban! Para rin po sa LGBTQ community ang laban na \u2018to." --Nesthy Petecio, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist (featherweight) #Tokyo2020 | @ftjochoaINQ\u201d— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRER Sports) 1627969657
"No matter what our gender is, as long as we have a dream, we fight. Ignore people who bring you down and the things they say," Petecio also told reporters, according to Rappler.
Out Sports reported that the boxer's rise from a poor childhood to becoming an Olympic medalist has been the dominating narrative around Petecio. Although she's just made history just in Tokyo, she is eyeing the Paris Olympic games in 2024.
"We're still chasing the gold," Petecio said. "We're not done."
The Tokyo Games have been historic for the Philippines. The country won its first gold medal when weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz came on top of the 55-kilogram category of women's weightlifting. The country first sent an Olympic team to the 1924 Games in Paris.
