There have only been a handful of successful female javelin throwers from decades in the Philippines—names like Asian Games medalists Vivencia Sabado (1954) , Marcelina Alonso (1966), and national record holder Josephine de la Viña (1971) come to mind. But no other athlete was as stellar as the ERLINDA LAVANDIA, who dominated the field event for decades, beginning with her debut appearance at the Northern Mindanao Regional Athletic Meet, leading to her amazing medal run in 9 editions in the Southeast Asian Games, where she secured 9 podium finishes, 4 of them Gold.
So untouchable was Lavandia, that she extended her wins long after her retirement, by participating in Asian Masters and World Masters Athletic Championships, winning more medals even beyond the age of 70.
Her incredible story began in the small barangay of Marga, Tubod town in distant Surigao del Norte, where she was born on 9 April 1952, to parents Pedro Lavandia Sr. and Eustaquia Bacasnot. Erlinda was the eldest of 8 children ((four girls and four boys) and was destined to be the only athlete in the family.
Her early years were spent in Surigao, where she studied at Tubod Elementary School and proceeded to the Surigao Del Norte National High School. A sporty kid, she was into everything, from volleyball to running, but it was baseball that became her first love, where she excelled as a catcher. Seeing her far-reaching throws, her first coach Lotheo Seftimo, a college PE teacher, lured her back to athletics—but this time, to the field events of javelin throw, discus throw, hammer throw and shot put.
In 1975, the Philippines was invited to join Singapore’s “Festival of Sports”, Pesta Sukan, and it sent a basketball team and a small contingent of athletes including Lavandia. In her first international meet, she won the Gold in javelin. From then on, there was not stopping the hefty, 5’4” thrower.
But Lavandia’s test would come two years later at the very first 1977 Southeast Asian Games at the Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was the inaugural appearance of the Philippines in the multi-sports subregional meet, an off-shoot of the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games that had its final staging in 1975. The unheralded Lavandia was chosen as one of the pioneer athletes to debut in the games, and she came through with a milestone win—winning the Gold with a throw of 45.22 m., more that 3 meters away from the Singaporean Silver medalist Chua Kim Tee, who did 41.98 m. In so doing, Lavandia established a new Games Record in Javelin Throw, a feat she would repeat in the next two SEA Games.
By 1979, Lavandia had joined the Gintong Alay project sports development and training project that would further hone her athletic skills. She not only defended her javelin title in Jakarta in 1979 with an improved 45. 78 m. throw, and in Manila in 1981, with a 46.20 m. effort, but she broke her own championship records in the process.
Her arch-rival Norsham Yoon of Malaysia would
snap her golden streak at the 1983 Singapore SEA Games but Lavandia
would reclaim the title in 1985 Thailand SEA Games with a personal best
of 47.96 m., another games record. In her 9 years of continuous SEA
Games participation, she always
medalled; her last 4 games (1987 Jakarta, 1989 Kuala Lumpur, 1991 Manila, 1993
Singapore) earned her 2 more Silvers and 2 Bronzes.
For many athletes, retirement from the playing field comes at 40. But Lavandia was not done competing yet, for in 1994, at the age 42, she began joining the Asian Masters on a regular basis, collecting a total of 12 Gold Medals by 2016---and she is not stopping. Some of her spectacular wins in the Asian Masters was in 2012, with her record-breaking victory in the javelin event for women 60-64 years old. Lavandia’s new mark was at 32.26 m., accomplished in her final throw. She smashed the old record of 27.36 m. set by Japan’s Kato Atsuko in Thailand in 2009. With that’s, she became the owner of all javelin throw records in the 40 (set in Jakarta, 1994), 45 (Okinawa, 1998), 50 (Dalian, China 2002), and 55 year-old category (Kuala Lumpur, 2010).
In the 2013 World Masters Athletic Championship,
Lavandia also made news with her golden win, hurling the javelin to a distance of 39.83 m. At the 23rd World Masters
Athletics Championships in Malaga, Spain, she placed third in the
women’s 65-69 javelin throw, doing 27.95 m. on her first attempt.
Her best year was in 2019 at the Southeast Asia Athletic Championship held in Singapore in May, when the 67-year-old won 4 Golds in different throwing events: javelin, discus, shotput and hammer throw. Her winning momentum continued in 2022 at the Kuala Lumpur International Masters Athletics Championships, where brought home three medals -- 2 Golds (javelin throw and discus throw) and 1 Silver (shot put) .
Her latest feat was at the 22nd Asia Masters Athletics
Championships held on November 8-12, 2024 at New Clark City stadium.
Before a home crowd Lavandia, now 72, won Golds in the javelin and
hammer throw, plus a Silver in the
discus.
Lavandia belongs to an elite field of rare, competitive, more mature athletes—the likes of Felicisimo Ampon, Robert Jaworksi, Elma Muros, Efren Bata Reyes, and even Manny Pacquiao—who do not consider age as a barrier. Our greatest javelin thrower however, believes also in a winning formula she calls her 3Ds -- dedication, determination and discipline, which she has been following all these years to stay in winning form.
The 73 year old legend is also grateful for the sports
that has opened opportunities for her to make her dreams take flight and
fulfill her role as the eldest in the family. Since the start of her sporting
career, she has been doling out financial aid, helping out with family
expenses, and sending her siblings to school. Most of all, she believes in
giving back to the country she loves. In between competitions, Lavandia served in the police force, rising to become a
Police Chief Inspector until her retirement in 2008. "I always
do my best in every competition”, she says, “ Every victory is special
for me because I know that I'm doing it for my country.”
SOURCES:
Photos: Erlinda Lavandia FB Page
Athletics at the 1977 SEA Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1977_SEA_Games
Erlinda Lavandia Athletic Records: https://athleticspodium.com/athlete/27950/erlinda-lavandia
“PH javelin queen Lavandia still in top form”, by Jean Malanum, January 14, 2023,
