Filipino track and field icon Mona Sulaiman passed away on Thursday night due to a lingering illness.
She was 75.
According to national track coach Jojo Posadas, Sulaiman has been confined at East Avenue Medical Center since Dec. 16 due to complications of diabetes. She expired at 6:50 p.m.
Interment details are still being discussed, Sulaiman’s niece, Jane, told the Inquirer.
Sulaiman, Asia’s sprint queen in the 1960s before Lydia De Vega-Mercado rose to prominence in the 1980s, was a consultant of the Philippine Sports Commission at the time of her death.
“We just lost one of the treasures of Philippine athletics and Philippine sports in general,” said Posadas’ wife, Elma, also a champion trackster.
Sulaiman, who hailed from Cotabato, won three gold medals in the 1962 Asian Games with victories in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints and in relay.
She represented the Philippines in the 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Sulaiman also excelled in pentathlon and discus throw. —JUNE NAVARRO, MARC REYES