When Asia’s running queens crossed paths

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Back in the ‘80s, fierce rivals Lydia de Vega and PT Usha figured in a compelling track drama that gripped the entire continent.

LEGENDS. Lydia de Vega and PT Usha blew away the field nearly 40 years ago. Photos from AFP and PinoyAthletics

De Vega followed this up with gold medals in record-breaking fashion in the 200m and 400m events at the 1981 Southeast Asian Games. Her winning time in the 200m Usha was blasting the opposition in the local junior circuits when she started competing at the age of 14. By 1981, she was setting the Indian national records in both the 100m and 200m events.

De Vega, however, blew away the field in the 200m which she won by over half a second over silver medalist Usha. Nambiar’s pronouncements would turn out to be no empty boast. During the 1985 Asian Championships held in Indonesia, Usha, who had trained in London, would show that she was ready to outclass not only De Vega but also every other Asian who wanted to challenge her quest for regional supremacy.

For De Vega, it meant the need to lick her wounds and continue training at the Mount Saint Antonio College in Los Angeles where she had been based. She had to reassess how she was going to narrow the gap between her and her Indian adversary, who may have had already left her behind by a mile.During the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, expectations were high that Usha would simply cement her status as the preeminent track star in Asia.

 

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