11-Year-Old Athlete Wins 3 Gold Medals While Wearing Makeshift ‘Nike Shoes’

• Rhea Bullos, an 11-year-old girl from the Philippines has captured the eyes and hearts of netizens after her photos went viral online.
• Apparently, the young athlete wore no shoes during her competition.
• She only rocked a surgical bandage with a hand-drawn Nike logo.

A young Filipina girl just proved to the world that more than having fancy running shoes, an athlete needs pure determination and passion to succeed. Rhea Bullos, an elementary student from Balasan, Iloilo in the Philippines attracted a lot of attention online after her photos went viral on social media.

Originally posted on Facebook by her trainer Predirick Valenzuela, Rhea’s photos have since inspired numerous netizens about her touching story. As you can see on the pics below, young Rhea didn’t wear any running shoes during her competition.

Rhea Bullos, 11 years old, only wore her makeshift ‘Nike’ shoes – and she ended up winning 3 gold medals at an inter-school tournament.

According to Predirick’s post, Rhea took home gold medals for the 400 meter dash, 800 meter run, and 1500 meter run, defeating female athletes from other elementary schools during the Iloilo Schools Sports Council Meet. She represented her school Salvacion Elementary.

No shoes – just a surgical bandage with a hand-drawn Nike Swoosh.

In an interview CNN Philippines, Predirick shared he’s happy that she won, adding that she’s always training hard, despite her lack of appropriate footwear.

Numerous netizens have since expressed their admiration for Rhea’s perseverance, despite of life’s difficulties. Some took time to comment that she’s a “fine example of what Filipino athletes are made of” while others encouraged those capable to make donations so the girl could have the equipment she needs to further excel in sports.

According to the trainer, Rhea dreams of competing in the Palarong Pambansa (National Games) and the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games someday. With her will power, we’re sure that could be a reality in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, those interested to make donations for Rhea may contact Predirick Valenzuela via Facebook.