MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines left its mark in the international sporting scene in 2021 as several Filipino athletes authored history-making performances.

From weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz winning the country its first Olympic gold medal to gymnast Carlos Yulo establishing his stature as bona fide star in the sport with another world title, the Philippines enjoyed year-round success in the world stage.

Here are the top performing Filipino athletes of the year:

Hidilyn Diaz

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz etched her name in Philippine sports lore after ending a near-century-long drought for an Olympic gold medal when she ruled the inaugural women’s 55kg division in Tokyo in July.

Pitted against Chinese world record holder Liao Qiuyun in an enthralling duel for the gold, Diaz – carrying the hopes of an entire country – lifted an Olympic record 127kg in the clean and jerk for a total lift of 224kg, also an Olympic mark, to emerge victorious.

Her feat spurred the rest of the Philippine delegation in Tokyo to add to the medal tally.

Inspired by Diaz, boxers Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Eumir Marcial clinched two silvers and one bronze as the Philippines wound up as the top Southeast Asian nation behind its most successful Olympic campaign.

Yuka Saso

Slowly making a name for herself with two Japan LPGA Tour triumphs in 2020, Yuka Saso stamped her class as a certified golf star after reigning in the 2021 US Women’s Open – one of the five majors in the LPGA Tour.

The 20-year-old bucked back-to-back bogeys early in the front nine of the last round and set up a sudden death playoff with Nasa Hataoka, ultimately beating the Japanese to become the first Filipino to win the tournament.

Saso, then just two weeks away from her 20th birthday, tied South Korean star Inbee Park as the youngest US Women’s Open champion.

Two months later, Saso rebounded from a terrible start in the Tokyo Olympics to finish at joint ninth place in the women’s individual golf event.

Nonito Donaire

The year saw the renaissance of 39-year-old boxer Nonito Donaire.

Fighting for the first time in more than a year since he lost to Japanese champion Naoya Inoue, Donaire proved he still packs a mean punch after pulling off a stunning fourth-round knockout against erstwhile unbeaten French Nordine Oubaali in May.

“The Filipino Flash” wrested the World Boxing Council bantamweight belt from Oubaali to become the oldest champion in the history of the division.

Ordered to defend his title against compatriot Reymart Gaballo in December, Donaire showed no mercy as he picked up another fourth-round stoppage with a nasty left shot to the body that prevented his fellow Filipino from standing up.

Still going strong even with Father Time creeping, the four-division world champion has primed himself for a keenly awaited rematch with Inoue.

Carlos Yulo

Gymnast Carlos Yulo vowed to comeback stronger after a disappointing Tokyo Olympics stint that saw him go home empty-handed despite being tipped as a strong medal contender.

The pint-sized Yulo did not disappoint.

Yulo kicked off his redemption season by claiming two medals – a gold in floor exercise and a bronze in vault – in the 2021 All-Japan Senior & Masters Gymnastics Championship in September.

He then established his stature as a force to be reckoned with in October after winning a gold and a silver in the 2021 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

No thanks to a costly deduction, Yulo failed to defend the historic gold medal he clinched in men’s floor exercise two years ago, but he displayed steely resolve by pocketing gold in men’s vault and silver in men’s parallel bars.

Still improving at 21 years old, Yulo is the owner of two golds, one silver, and one bronze in the history of the world championships.

Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam

Prior to Tokyo, the Philippines went without an Olympic medal in boxing since Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco bagged silver in the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Twenty-five years after, the country captured not just one, but two silvers in the sport courtesy of Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam.

Petecio was the first to snap that dry spell as she settled for a runner-up finish following a unanimous decision loss to home bet and rival Sena Irie in the women’s featherweight final.

Still, Petecio made history as the first Filipina to win an Olympic medal in boxing.

Paalam then replicated her feat after a split decision defeat to British Galal Yafai in the men’s flyweight final.

A clear underdog going to Tokyo, Paalam dazzled with a string of breathtaking wins, including an upset of 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan to earn a spot in the medal rounds.

Ernest John Obiena

Like Carlos Yulo, EJ Obiena turned his frustration from landing at 11th place in the men’s pole vault event of the Tokyo Olympics to motivation.

Just weeks after the Summer Games, Obiena reached new heights after setting a fresh personal and national record in the Paris Diamond League in August with 5.91m to snag silver, finishing only behind world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden.

It was an impressive showing for the 26-year-old as he bested Tokyo silver medalist Christopher Nielsen and Rio de Janeiro bronze medalist Sam Kendricks of the USA.

But Obiena did not stop there.

The world No. 6 copped gold in the 2021 Golden Roof Challenge in Austria in September and set a new Asian record of 5.93m, breaking the long-standing mark of 5.92m held by Igor Potapovich of Kazakhstan since 1998.

Carlo Biado

Pool star Carlo Biado placed himself in unique company in September as he joined legend Efren “Bata” Reyes as the only Filipinos to rule the US Open Pool Championship.

Biado completed an inspired comeback against Singaporean Aloysius Yapp in the final to become the first Filipino to win the glamorous tournament since Reyes achieved the feat in 1994.

Trailing by five racks in the race-to-13 affair, the 38-year-old banked on his experience against the 25-year-old Yap as he claimed the next 10 racks en route to the historic victory.

Biado added another trophy to his collection with his title romp in the Abu Dhabi Open 9-Ball Championship in November.

Alex Eala

Young tennis ace Alex Eala continued her rise this year by snaring a couple of precious hardwares.

After the starting 2021 with a maiden pro title win in the ITF Rafa Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour in Spain, Eala captured her second junior Grand Slam crown when she and Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva triumphed in the French Open girls’ doubles in June.

Eala, this time teaming up with American Madison Sieg, bagged another doubles crown as they emerged victorious in the ITF junior grade A tournament in Milan, Italy in July.

In the same Milan tilt, Eala completed a double title romp with a rousing victory in the singles event.

Eumir Marcial

The Philippines’ biggest medal haul in Olympic history would not have been possible if not for the bronze boxer Eumir Marcial won.

Marcial authored back-to-back stoppage victories over Algerian Younes Nemouchi and Armenian Arman Darchinyan to advance to the medal round of the men’s middleweight class.

The 26-year-old Filipino, though, fell short of the final after narrow split decision loss to Ukrainian tank Oleksandr Khyzhniak, a fighter who went unbeaten in 62 straight matches, in their semifinal duel to settle for bronze.

Marcial is turning his focus on his professional career as he looks to follow up his unanimous decision win over American Andrew Whitfield in his pro debut in December 2020 with another triumph.

Dwight Ramos

Japan B. League stalwart Dwight Ramos proved his case as a vital piece of Gilas Pilipinas’ future after keying the Philippines to an unbeaten run in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Ramos averaged 15 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2 assists in twin wins over Korea and a romp of Indonesia in the third window in June as the Nationals completed a 6-0 sweep of the qualifiers.

Overall, the Filipino-American normed 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2 steals in six qualifying games.

Behind his stellar performance in the qualifiers, Ramos attracted the attention of several B. League teams and eventually signed with the Toyama Grouses.

– Rappler.com