Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio celebrated her 32nd birthday on Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Colorado, USA, where she and fellow Paris 2024 Olympics-bound boxers Eumir Marcial and Aira Villegas are preparing for the 2024 USA Boxing International Invitational scheduled from April 16 to 20.
In a Facebook post on April 12, Petecio expressed her gratitude to those who sent private messages and posted on social media to greet her.
"Hindi ko na kayo mareplayan isa-isa kaya dito na ako mag thank you, really appreciated talaga mga champ (I can't reply to every one of you individually, so I am thanking you all here, I really appreciate your greetings)," she, who was nursing a fever, said.
A video uploaded by coach Mitchel Martinez showed the boxing team coaches, along with Marcial, Magno, Rogen Ladon, and Karina Picson, an official of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap), surprising Petecio with a birthday cake and singing her a birthday song.
Petecio, who secured her spot in her second Olympics at the First World Qualification Tournament in Italy, thanked her Abap family for the birthday cake and acknowledged her partner, Gen, siblings, nephews, and nieces for their online greetings, expressing her love for them and hoping to see them soon.
As Petecio blew out the cake candles and made her wish her coaches and Picson could be heard saying, "For the (Olympic) gold" and "Gold 'yan (That's gold)," followed by applause.
She concluded her post, saying, "Thank you, Lord sa panibagong taon sa buhay ko! At sa mga blessings. Alam mo namn ano lang wish ko this year! Samahan mo ako abutin to (Thank you, Lord, for another year in my life! And for the blessings. You know what I wish for this year! Please be with me to achieve it)."
Meanwhile, Petecio, along with Villegas and Marcial, will participate in the 2024 USA Boxing International Invitational at the Pueblo Convention Center in Colorado as part of their preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Rogen Ladon and other boxers in Colorado will also compete in this event as a tune-up for the upcoming second and final world qualifying event for the Paris Olympics in Thailand.
The USA Boxing website indicates that the invitational tournament is being conducted in conjunction with World Boxing, the new international boxing federation established by the Olympic Movement.
A total of 120 boxers from 17 countries, half of whom have already qualified for the Paris Olympics, will compete for honors in the 2024 USA Boxing International Invitational. MLSA