MANILA, Philippines — Indonesian Edgar Xavier Marvelo was supposed to be celebrating on Wednesday after turning in a pair of winning performances in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
After bagging two gold medals for his country in two separate Wushu events, Marvelo should have been elated. But all was not well.
"Winning the golds for men's Gunshu and Daoshu events of Wushu yesterday came as a bittersweet moment," the 2019 SEA Games narrated on their official Facebook page.
The Wushu virtuoso was in high spirits until tragedy struck from miles away.
According to the 2019 SEA Games post, Marvelo's father passed away just as his son was on the floor and competing for a title.
"People in his team were in tears after his victory and those were not just tears of joy," the post read. "Edgar's father died while he was competing in the event and he was only informed about it after winning the gold, bringing him to tears."
With Marvelo coming off two hard-fought withs, his celebration was short-lived and bittersweet as he only wanted to celebrate his victories with his family.
Instead, he could only dedicate the wins to his late father.
"He dedicates his gold medal to his country and to his father," the post ended.