Road to Gold – Hidilyn Diaz
Hidilyn Diaz made history bringing home the Philippines ‘ first-ever GOLD OLYMPICS MEDAL! Winning the women’s 55kg category for weightlifting! The 30 years old athlete set an Olympic record by lifting a combined weight of 224 KG at Tokyo 2020. But her journey towards the Gold medal is never easy, let us go back to where she has started.
2008 – Hidilyn was selected as a wildcard entry for Beijing Games, marking her journey in becoming the first Filipina to compete in weightlifting. Diaz was able to clear 97kg – an 11th placer in the field of 17. Unfortunately, she failed to lift in the clean and jerk and crashed out all three attempts at 120kg.
2012 – Hidilyn, just turned 21 this time, bagged the silver medal from the Southeast Asian Game and headed to London. But despite the experience and the silver medal she has, it seems that 2012 is not yet her year. She was one of the two competitors to record a DNF in the 58kg division after failing to lift 118kg in three attempts in the clean and jerk.
2016 – Hidilyn booked a bunch of vital wins by winning gold at the 2015 Asian Weightlifting Championship in Phuket, Thailand. She also bagged the bronze medal from the 2015 World Weightlifting Championship in Houston. Another of her achievements from 2016 is getting the 3rd place finish in the 2016 edition of the Asian tilt held in Uzbekistan.
In the 2016 summer Olympics held in Rio, Hidilyn ended the 20 years Olympic drought of the country by bringing home the silver medal in the women’s 53kg division.
2021 – Tokyo, July 26, 2021, Hidilyn Diaz finally became the Philippines’s first-ever OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST. She cleared 94kg and 97kg in a snatch but failed to lift a 99kg. She went toe to toe against China’s Liao Quiyun, the world record holder in the category. She needs to beat Liao’s 223kg in her final lift wherein Hidilyn cleared an Olympic record-setting 127kg in her 3rd try. She was able to snag the ever-elusive Gold Medal with a 224kg record!