She was born Hergie Tao-Wag Bacyadan on November 4, 1994 (age 29) at Quezon City, Philippines. Bacyadan hails from Tanudan, Kalinga and an Igorot. She is a Filipino boxer and former wushu and vovinam fighter.
Vovinam is the short for Võ Việt Nam, meaning "Vietnamese Martial Arts", founded in 1938 by Nguyễn Lộc. It is based on traditional Vietnamese eclectic sources per CNN Sports.
Wushu, or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art which integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern Chinese martial arts, including Shaolin kung fu, tai chi, and Wudangquan. "Wushu" is the Chinese term for "martial arts", "Wu" = combat or martial, "Shu" = art, reflecting the art's goal as a compilation and standardization of various styles according to Peter Lorge.
In women's wushu, Bacyadan won a silver medal in the 65kg division at the 2017 Kazan, Russia World Championships. She grabbed a silver medal in the 65kg division at the 2017 Sanda World Cup in Foshan, China.
In women's vovinam, she won a gold medal at the 2023 World Championships in the 66kg division in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. At the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, she seized silver in the 65 kg division.
Bacyadan changed her sport to boxing and participated at the 2019 ASBC Asian Grand Slam Boxing Championships in Xiamen, China as part of her quest to qualify for the Summer Olympics.
Bacyadan qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by defeating Maryelis Yriza of Venezuela at the 2024 World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.
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