Bea Lucero

In this Filipino name for married women, the birth middle name or maternal family name is unknown, the birth surname or paternal family name is Lucero, and the marital name is Lhuillier.
Bea Lucero
Personal information
Full nameBeatriz Lucero-Lhuillier
NationalityFilipino
Born
(1972-12-02) December 2, 1972
Spouse
Jean Henri Lhuillier
Children4
Sport
CountryPhilippines
SportArtistic gymnastics (until 1987)
Taekwondo (from 1989)
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing Philippines
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
SEA Games 3 4 0
Total 3 4 0
Women's taekwondo
Representing Philippines
Asian Championships
1992 Kuala Lumpur Featherweight

Beatriz Lucero-Lhuillier is a Filipino former gymnast and taekwondo practitioner. She won a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in taekwondo, a demonstration sport at the Games.

Early life and education

Beatriz Lucero was born on December 2, 1972, to Tony and Leana Lucero.[1][2]Her father is a lawyer while her mother is a teacher. Bea Lucero has a brother and a sister.[3] Lucero studied at the International School Manila.[4] After taking part in the 1992 Oylmpics, Lucero went on to focus on her studies at the University of the Philippines earning a communications degree.[2]

Career

Gymnastics

Bea Lucero took up gymnastics when she was six years old, after witnessing other girls at the gymnasium at her school.[5]

She later became a competitive artistic gymnast representing the Philippines internationally. She won a gold and a silver at the 1985 SEA Games in Bangkok.[6] This was followed by two golds and three silver in the 1987 edition in 1987 edition in Jakarta.[2]

Lucero failed to qualify for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, attributed to a leadership dispute within the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines.[2] Her non-participation at the 1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was a factor, although Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Sering petitioned for a wild card.[7] Lucero retired from competitive gymnastics at age 15.[4]

Taekwondo

Lucero switched from gymnastics to taekwondo and trained under the tutulege of Hong Sung-chon, the vice president of the Philippine Taekwondo Association at the time since 1989.[4]

She garnered the featherweight bronze at the 1992 Asian Taekwondo Championships in Kuala Lumpur.[8] Later at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, she won a bronze medal in the featherweight division in taekwondo after losing to Ayşegül Ergin of Turkey in the semifinals.[2] Her medal was not included in the official tally because it was a demonstration sport.

Wushu

Lucero also took up wushu. She joined the national trials for the 2005 SEA Games in Manila where she and a teammate was eliminated.[3]

In television

Lucero appeared in various television commercials as a young teenage athlete.[9] This include Milo, doing her first commercial for the chocolate malt drink brand at age 12.[10][11] She is also part of the cast of The Children's Hour in the late 1980s at ABS-CBN.[9] At the 1988 Summer Olympics, she covered the gymnastics event for the People's Television Network.[12]

She also hosted a talk show Teen Talk which aired on GMA Network from 1993 - 1995; her co-host was RJ Ledesma.

Personal life

Bea Lucero is married to Jean Henri Lhuillier, the president and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier. She is a mother of three boys and a girl.[10][13]

Honors

Lucero was inducted to the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in May 2026 for her achievements in gymnastics and taekwondo.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Lucero, Beatriz". The Living Archive of the Philippine Olympians PH. Philippine Olympians Association. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e Henson, Joaquin (January 25, 2018). "Inspiring athletes with Bea's story". The Philippine Star. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Henson, Joaquin M. (January 26, 2018). "Third sport for Bea". The Philippine Star. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Atencio, Peter (February 11, 1990). "Bea Lucero in taekwondo". Manila Standard. p. 24. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  5. ^ "BEA: Her Life's A Perfect Ten". Philippine Daily Inquirer. March 21, 2004. p. C5. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  6. ^ "Bea joins seeded SEAG bets". Manila Standard. July 3, 1987. p. 7. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  7. ^ Alinea, Eddie (January 6, 1988). "26 athletes assured of Olympics berth". Manila Standard. p. 12. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  8. ^ "Regional Championships". World Taekwondo Federation. Archived from the original on September 27, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  9. ^ a b Fiel, Corito (June 28, 1987). "The new Children's Hour". Manila Standard. p. 8. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  10. ^ a b Terrado, Reuben (February 4, 2025). "WHERE R THEY NOW: Fulltime mom Bea Lucero still in touch with sports roots". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  11. ^ "Milo ad wins award". Manila Standard. September 2, 1988. p. 9. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  12. ^ "PTV 4 shows take backseat as Olympics go whole hog". Manila Standard. September 20, 1988. p. 29. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  13. ^ Cruz, Romy Antonette Peña (October 12, 2018). "Olympian Bea Lucero-Lhuillier now a cool mom to 4 promising athletes". PEP.ph. Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  14. ^ "Onyok Velasco, Ramon Fernandez among 2026 PH Sports Hall of Fame inductees". GMA News. April 13, 2026. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
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