When Nesthy Petecio won a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics, she did so not just for herself, for her family and for her country, but also for the LGBT community.

The 29-year-old Petecio has made no secret of her sexual orientation, and in a March 2020 appearance on the "Go Hard Girls" podcast, she expressed her gratitude that her family accepts her for who she is.

"Sobrang proud po ako bilang member po ng LGBT po. Hindi ko po tinatanggi 'yun," Petecio told reporters on Tuesday after she became the Philippines' second medalist in the Tokyo Olympics.

Petecio lost via unanimous decision to Japan's Sena Irie in the finals of the women's featherweight division, but still made history as the first Filipina to win a boxing medal in the Summer Games.

It was also the Philippines' first Olympic boxing medal in 25 years, following the silver that Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco won in Atlanta in 1996.

Petecio hopes that her feat will show that one's sexual orientation should not be a barrier to chasing dreams.

"Kumbaga, kahit anong gender po natin, basta kung may pangarap po tayo, laban po," she said.

Petecio is one of three out Filipino athletes who competed in the Tokyo Games, along with boxing teammate Irish Magno and skateboarder Margielyn Didal.

According to Out Sports, there are at least 181 publicly out athletes who competed in the Tokyo Olympics, including the first trans Olympians.

For breaking news and latest developments on the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, visit https://news.abs-cbn.com/tokyo-olympics

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