Wikipedia

Hergie Bacyadan

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Tao-Wag and the surname or paternal family name is Bacyadan.

Hergie Tao-Wag Bacyadan (born November 4, 1994)[3][1] is a Filipino boxer and kickboxer; Also a former wushu and vovinam practitioner, Bacyadan has competed in the women's division in all sports.

Hergie Bacyadan
Bacyadan competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Birth nameHergie Tao-Wag Bacyadan
National teamPhilippines
Born (1994-11-04) November 4, 1994 (age 30)
Quezon City, Philippines
Home townTanudan, Kalinga
Years active2016–
Height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
SpouseLady Denily Digo
Sport
CountryPhilippines
SportBoxing, Kickboxing, Wushu, Vovinam
Boxing career
Statistics
StanceOrthodox[1]
Boxing record[2]
Total fights14
Wins9
Wins by KO0
Losses5
Medal record
Women's wushu
Representing the  Philippines
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Kazan –65 kg
Sanda World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2017 Foshan –65 kg
Women's vovinam
Representing the  Philippines
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Ho Chi Minh –66 kg
SEA Games
Silver medal – second place 2023 Cambodia –65 kg
Women's kickboxing
Representing the  Philippines
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Phnom Penh K1 -75 kg

He[a] is the first Vovinam World Championships gold medalist for the Philippines and a boxer who has qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Career

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Martial arts

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Bacyadan is a martial artist who engages in wushu and vovinam.

Wushu

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Bacyadan first made it to the Philippine national wushu team in 2016.[6] He took part at the inaugural Sanda Asian Cup in 2017 held in Foshan, China, winning a silver in the 65-kilogram division. At the 2017 World Wushu Championships in Kazan, Russia, he won another silver.[7]

Vovinam

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Bacyadan would briefly compete in vovinam, and lost weight as part of his preparation for the vovinam competition at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.[5]

Bacyadan competed in the 2023 Vovinam World Championships in the women's combat 66 kg division title and became the Philippines' first vovinam champion, winning against Mariana Abdeenko in the final.[8]

In response, Russia filed a protest calling to nullify the result and issue a ban against Filipino athletes for future competitions, claiming that it was because Bacaydan is a "man". The Philippine federation condemned its Russian counterpart, with Bacaydan affirming that he is eligible to compete as he is "born female" and has not taken male hormones or gender surgery, due to the fact that such procedures would result in disqualification.[9]

Kickboxing

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Bacyadan also have competed in kickboxing. He won a gold medal in the women's K1 -75kg division of the 2024 Asian Kickboxing Championships in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.[10] This qualified him a berth in the 2025 World Combat Games in China.[11]

Boxing

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Bacyadan’s shift to boxing was marked by his participation at the 2019 ASBC Asian Grand Slam Boxing Championships in Xiamen, China as part of his bid to qualify for in the Summer Olympics.[12]

Bacyadan qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris through winning his quota bout at the 2024 World Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 against Maryelis Yriza of Venezuela.[13][14]

Bacyadan prefers sparring with cisgender male boxers as part of his practice, which he believes benefits him in women's boxing.[15]

In the 2024 Summer Olympics, Li Qian would eliminate him early via unanimous decision in round 16 of the women's 75 kg (middleweight) division.[16] Shortly after the end of his stint, Bacyadan have expressed openness to turn to professional boxing.[17]

Personal life

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Bacyadan is a transgender man.[18][19] He discussed his gender identity in an interview with Preview, acknowledging that he was born as a woman but that his "heart and mind" are that of a man.[20] Despite this, Bacyadan competes in the women’s divisions, as he has not undergone any hormone replacement therapy or surgery which would risk his eligibility.[21]

He has stood by Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yuting of Taiwan who are involved in their own sex verification controversy in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Bacyadan affirmed Khelif and Lin are cis women and are fully qualified to participate and disavowed misinformation in social media that he has called for the ban of the two boxers.[22]

Bacyadan hails from Tanudan, Kalinga[23] and is of the Kalinga ethnic group.[24][25][26][27] He says that his tribe accepts his gender identity, and he is allowed to wear traditional men's clothes such as the bahag.[24]

Bacyadan describes his sexual orientation as being "attracted to women".[9] He married Lady Denily Digo, a bisexual cis woman, in Utah in 2022. The couple are online content creators with a presence on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.[28]

Notes

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  1. ^ Hergie Bacyadan is a trans man who was assigned female at birth and competes in women's sports; he has not undergone any surgery for his masculine features. He has no publicly stated pronoun preference,[4] although a One Sports article published through correspondence with Bacyadan's partner asserts he prefers he/him pronouns.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "BACYADAN Hergie". Olympics.com. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "Boxing record for Hergie Bacyadan". BoxRec.
  3. ^ Bacyadan, Hergie. "I, Hergie Tao-Wag Bacyadan, stand against the protest of Russian National Team". Instagram. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  4. ^ Cabral, Katrina Maisie (June 28, 2024). "Hergie Bacyadan Is Ready for His Olympic Dream". Preview. Retrieved July 17, 2024. When I asked him for his pronouns, Hergie left it up to my hands. Despite this, he's assured that he had always felt that he had the heart and mind of a man.
  5. ^ a b Alba, Katrina (May 11, 2023). "'White gold': Hergie Bacyadan's sacrifice deserves respect despite sour loss in SEA Games vovinam". One Sports (in English and Filipino). Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  6. ^ Austria, Maria Romina (June 2, 2024). "From martial arts to boxing, Bacyadan fulfills Olympic dream". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  7. ^ "2017's sports ups and downs". SunStar baguio. SunStar Publishing Inc. December 30, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  8. ^ Caluag, Randy (November 26, 2023). "Bacyadan wins PH's 1st world vovinam gold". Manila Standard. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Caluag, Randy (December 1, 2023). "PH champion assails Russian federation for gender protest". Manila Standard. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  10. ^ Terrado, Reuben (October 13, 2024). "Paris Olympian Hergie Bacyadan captures Asian title in kickboxing". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  11. ^ Villar, Joey (October 14, 2024). "Hergie, pals stamp class in Asian meet". The Philippine Star. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  12. ^ "Philippines' Hergie Bacyadan introduced her successful sport change in the first day of the ASBC Asian Grand Slam Boxing Championships". ASBC NEWS. Asian Boxing Confederation. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  13. ^ "Boxing: Hergie Bacyadan punches ticket to Paris Olympics". ABS-CBN News. June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "Boxer Hergie Bacyadan qualifies for Paris Olympics". GMA News. June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  15. ^ Demigillo, Kiko (July 29, 2024). "Steadfast Hergie Bacyadan relishes sparring sessions with male boxers in preparation for Paris 2024". One Sports. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  16. ^ Villanueva, Ralph Edwin (July 31, 2024). "Chinese top seed too skilled for Olympic boxing debutant Bacyadan". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  17. ^ Villanueva, Ralph Edwin (August 16, 2024). "Olympian boxer Bacyadan mulls turning pro". The Philippine Star. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  18. ^ Webb, Karleigh (July 31, 2024). "Hergie Bacyadan is trans boxer at the Olympics with 'heart'". OutSports. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  19. ^ Napoles, Jimboy (August 7, 2024). "Get to know Pinoy Transgender Male Boxer Hergie Bacyadan". GMA News. Retrieved August 16, 2024. I am trans at heart, but I did not take any hormones or steroids to look like a man.
  20. ^ Cabral, Katrina Maisie (June 28, 2024). "Hergie Bacyadan Is Ready for His Olympic Dream". Preview. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Bell, Brian C. "Trans boxer Hergie Bacyadan looks for gold at Paris Olympics". OutSports. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  22. ^ Valderrama, Aeron Paul (August 5, 2024). "Bacyadan defends Lin, Khelif, stands by their gender identity amid backlash". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  23. ^ Kinao, Menchie (November 28, 2023). "Kalinga boxer wins first world vovinam gold medal for Philippines". GuruPress Cordillera. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Napoles, Jimboy (August 7, 2024). "Get to know Pinoy Transgender Male Boxer Hergie Bacyadan". GMA News. Retrieved August 16, 2024. In an interview with Preview, Hergie Bacyadan said that his Kalinga tribe accepted his gender identity as he wore traditional men's clothes such as the bahag.
  25. ^ Navarro, June (June 1, 2024). "Buoyed by belief, Hergie Bacyadan nears Paris Olympics slot". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  26. ^ Dioquino, Delfin (June 2, 2024). "Masterful Hergie Bacyadan batters foe to punch Olympic ticket". Rappler. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  27. ^ Fuertes, Rommel Jr. (July 13, 2024). "Paris Olympics: Hergie Bacyadan honors her tribe in quest of boxing gold". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  28. ^ Maru, Davinci (June 30, 2022). "Filipino same-sex couple get married online in Utah". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
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