Mervin Guarte was an accomplished athlete during his life, including highlights as a Spartan Asia Pacific Champion, and nabbing multiple medals in the Southeast Asian Games.
Tragedy marked the end of the life of Philippine national team athlete Mervin Guarte, after facing a violent death in a stabbing incident in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro last January 7.
But Guarte, 33, was able to live a life that came with many highlights and success, especially in his life as an athlete.
[RELATED: Mervin Guarte dies in stabbing incident: SEA Games multi-medalist mourned]
As police strive to bring justice to Guarte’s unfortunate passing, let’s take a moment to remember Guarte’s accomplishments as an athlete-airman, as his teammates and the rest of the Philippine sports community honor his memory.
Unlike most athletes, who reached the peak of their careers in their early 20s, Guarte enjoyed a successful second wind to his national team career when he switched from athletics to Obstacle Course Racing back in 2019.
Encouraged by a friend to join OCR, which at the time was about to make its SEA Games debut in the Manila edition in 2019, Guarte won his elusive gold medal in just his first foray into the sport — and in home soil no less.
Despite being a newcomer to the sport, Guarte won gold in the 2019 SEA Games after ruling the men’s 5km of OCR. This was his first gold after a couple of silver medals in the biennial meet back in 2011.
He then followed it up with another gold in 2023, helping a four-man team capture the top prize in the men’s OCR team relay at the SEA Games in Cambodia.
During his time with the athletics team, where he was teammates with the likes of Olympians Mary Joy Tabal and EJ Obiena, Guarte copped silver medals in the 2011 SEA Games in the 800-meter and 1500-meter events in track and field.
[RELATED: EJ Obiena mourns ‘friend’, national team teammate Mervin Guarte]
He was also part of the team that remains the national record holder for the 4x800m, which they tallied during the Vietnam Open back in July 2014.
Outside of national team duties, Guarte was a Spartan Asia Pacific Champion, having won the Men’s Beast 21km in 2024.
Guarte was also an Airman First Class in the Philippine Air Force, where he joined through direct enlistment back in 2015. He was previously assigned to the Fernando Airbase in Lipa City.