Cumberland’s Victoria Bossong gains fame in Philippines for running success
Victoria Bossong of Cumberland and the Philippines poses on the podium following the women’s 800-meter final at the Asian Games on Sept. 29 in Nagoya, Japan. By winning bronze in the event, Bossong, a 2021 Cheverus High graduate, became the first Filipina to win an Asian Games athletics medal in 32 years. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
More than 8,000 miles from where she was born and raised, Victoria Bossong has celebrity status.
The Cumberland native can hardly walk down the street in the Philippines without being recognized. People will look closely, making sure it’s really her. Some will want photos, or maybe even autographs. When she visited the country two weeks ago, she needed a private escort.
“They gave me a little security team at the airport to make sure I made it everywhere safe,” Bossong said. “It’s fun to have that kind of lifestyle. When I go over there, I’m always recognized. I feel the love from people in the Philippines so much, and that keeps me very motivated.”
There’s a reason Bossong, 23, gets superstar treatment on the other side of the world. Representing the Philippines, the 2021 Cheverus High graduate took bronze in the 800 meters at the recent Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, becoming the first Filipina to medal in track and field at the competition in 32 years.
At Cheverus, Bossong was a Maine high school track all-time great. She holds Class A outdoor championship meet records in the 100 (11.73 seconds), 400 (55.08) and 800 (2:10.66), as well as the Class A indoor record in the 400 (56.95). She was Gatorade Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
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Even after she graduated from Cheverus and began competing for the women’s team at Harvard, Bossong didn’t envision a professional career. But during her senior year, when she placed second in the NCAA women’s 800, the neuroscience major changed her mind.
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“I was all ready to go straight to med school, but I was able to be so consistent in my progression as an athlete, and it opened a new door,” Bossong said. “I think that’s part of how I’ve been able to be successful, saying ‘yes’ to new things, whether it’s new training techniques or going professional and delaying my academic progression.”
Bossong, who is half-Filipino by way of her mother, became an official citizen of the Philippines in April. On July 1, she changed her sporting nationality from the United States. Having beaten the Asian Games qualifying standard of 2:05.21 multiple times, she was assured a spot in Japan.
Bossong had her sights on gold. The women’s 800 record at the Asian Games, set by Kazakhstan’s Margarita Mukasheva in 2014, stood at 1:59.02, a time Bossong had beaten over the summer. She posted the top time of 2:02.34 in the Sept. 28 qualifiers, but in the finals the following day, her time of 2:05.34 lost out to Wu Hongjiao of China (2:04.49) and Nelly Korir of Bahrain (2:05.16).
Victoria Bossong of Cumberland and the Philippines dons the national flag after her third-place finish in the women’s 800-meter final at the Asian Games on Sept. 29 in Nagoya, Japan. Bossong now has her sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. (Aaron Favila/Associated Press)
“One thing I’ve learned is that you can prepare all you want, but what happens on the day, you can’t fully prepare for it,” Bossong said. “It was just a tactical race, and I haven’t run a race like that in my entire life. Now, just having more experience, if a race went out that slow again in the future, I would make different moves.”
Still, Bossong she knew what the medal meant to the Philippines. Not since Elma Muros took bronze in the 1994 long jump had a Filipina woman won a track and field medal at the Asian Games. It wasn’t her only notable performance in Nagoya, as she also competed on a mixed 1,600 relay team that set a national team record in 3:19.68.
Returning to the Philippines, Bossong received hero status — “EVERY ASIAN MOM’S DREAM DAUGHTER,” read one headline that referenced her medal and Harvard degree. Every media outlet in the country wanted to speak with the bronze medalist, including GMA and ABS-CBN, the nation’s two largest TV news networks. Allure and Cosmo’s Philippine editions also presented her with brand opportunities.
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“I would probably have three to four hours of sleep every night, and then it was interviews, interviews and all these collaborations,” Bossong said. “It was a very sleep-deprived week, but I knew I had to make the most out of my time there. … I knew the Philippines was a very supportive country, but being able to witness that firsthand has just been so special, and it’s why I do it.”
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Bossong said competing for the Philippines and spending time in the country has allowed her to get more in touch with her Filipino roots. Her platform, she said, has helped her to serve as an inspiration to other Asian athletes, something she lamented not having in the sport as a young girl.
Bossong lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she continues to train at Harvard’s facilities. She still has plenty of ties to Maine, with her family still residing in her childhood home in Cumberland Foreside. It’s a challenge, she said, to get from New England to the Philippines, which can take 24 hours (not counting a 12-hour time difference).
Next on Bossong’s agenda? Los Angeles 2028. Competing for the Philippines at the Olympic Games in her native country would be a dream come true, not to mention that greater Los Angeles is home to more than 500,000 Filipinos — one of the largest Filipino diasporas.
“It would be really special because it’s ‘home turf’ on both ends (in that sense),” Bossong said. “I just hope I’m able, first of all, to make it there, but also to represent the country very proudly and show the world what the Philippines can achieve on the international scale.”
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Tagged: cheverus stags, olympics
Mike Mandell came to the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel in April 2022 after spending five and a half years with The Ellsworth American in Hancock County, Maine. He came to Maine out of college after. More by Mike Mandell
