Paris Olympics bronze winners Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas returned to their respective hometowns and were greeted with a warm welcome and additional incentives from the local government Thursday, Aug. 22.

A Tokyo Games silver medalist, Petecio was all smiles during her parade in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur and was rewarded P800,000 by the Sangguniang Bayan for her podium finish in Paris.

Petecio stepped into an elite club of multiple Olympic medal winners, joining swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso (1928, 1932), weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo (2016, 2020) and gymnast Carlos Yulo (2024) in the pages of Philippine sports history.

The 32-year-old is eyeing an Asian Games medal and probably another shot for the gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028.

In Tacloban City, debutant Villegas paraded all over town and received P1 million from the city government.

Villegas, who started her boxing career more than a decade ago, vowed to give back to aspiring athletes by giving them uniforms.