Tennis’ Alex Eala and football’s Sarina Bolden were named Athletes of the Year of the inaugural Women in Sports Awards which will be held Wednesday night at Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

Eala, 18, bagged the women’s singles and mixed doubles bronze medals at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

She also won the Australian and French Open junior doubles and a US Open junior singles title two years ago.

Bolden, on the other hand, saw action in 44 international matches and scored 28 goals since joining the national football team in 2018.

She delivered the goal in the country’s 1–0 win over World Cup co-host New Zealand at the Sky Stadium in Wellington on July 25, 2023.

“The decision to award both Eala and Bolden as Athletes of the Year was quite unanimous. Both are deserving of recognition for not only making us proud of their achievements but also for serving as positive role models as Filipina athletes,” PSC Commissioner Olivia “Bong” Coo, who conceptualized the awarding ceremony, said.

Coo will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, along with track and field standouts Elma Muros-Posadas, Erlinda Lavandia and the late Lydia de Vega back-to-back Asian Games 100-meter sprint queen; powerlifter Adeline Dumapong; and gymnast and taekwondo jin Bea Lucero-Lhuillier.

The awardees were nominated by the national sports associations under the Philippine Olympic Committee and went through a stringent selection process by the five-person panel composed of Stephen Fernandez of the Philippine Olympians Association, Nikko Huelgas of the POC Athletes Commission, Judith Staples of Masters Athletics, Carlo Sampan of Milo Philippines and Judith Caringal from the sports media.

They came up with the criteria for selection with support from the Philippine Commission on Women.

After a series of thorough deliberations among the judges, the awardees were chosen from the list of nearly 200 ominees across 78 sports based on their contribution to the promotion and development of their sport, apart from being the top woman achiever in their sport last year.

Special citations will also be given out to National Academy of Sports executive director Joy Reyes, noted trainer-nutritionist Veronica Cruz, nutritionist Jeaneth Aro, sports psychologist Karen Trinidad, sportscaster Dyan Castillejo and Women in Sports Advocate Senator Pia Cayetano. (PNA)