Hidilyn Diaz
Hidilyn Diaz
"I think the impact I make is to inspire Filipino female athletes that they can do it as well... A Filipina can be a sports hero."
"I think the impact I make is to inspire Filipino female athletes that they can do it as well... A Filipina can be a sports hero."
Hidilyn Francisco Diaz-Naranjo is a Filipino World and Olympic champion weightlifter and airwoman
She has made her folk proud for not only influencing and impacting the Olympic field as a filipina, but for also becoming the first Filipino to ever win an Olympic Gold Medal for the Philippines.
In her early weightlifting years, she was a bronze medalist in the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand and achieved 10th place at the 2006 Asian Games in the 53-kilogram class. While she was a student and representing Universidad de Zamboanga, she won two golds and one silver in the Asian Youth/Junior Weightlifting Championship held in Jeonju, South Korea. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she was the youngest competitor in the women's 58-kg category.
From carrying pails of water as a child to now carrying the entire nation’s pride on her shoulders, Olympian Hidilyn Diaz has proven to the whole world how grit, determination, and a clear vision of your future can take you to amazing, new heights.
As the first-ever Filipino athlete in history to bring home an Olympic gold medal, Hidilyn has inspired and united the whole country to dream bigger and take on challenges bolder. Through her story of resilience, she has shown that dreams, indeed, do come true! She’s made history!
Aside from staying committed to the fight, here’s what else we can learn from the world’s best female weightlifter.
Commit with Grit
What exactly is grit? Grit is defined as “demonstrating passion and perseverance for a goal despite obstacles,” of which Hidilyn has had many. She was ridiculed as a child for being “boyish”, and had failed to snag titles numerous times in other competitions. But this did not stop her. Instead of being disheartened, she trained even harder.
Trust Your Team
While grit and confidence in yourself make for a winning attitude, hardly anyone truly succeeds alone. You need a team. Hidilyn was careful in choosing her team and support group. Her victory and the long journey to get where she is now shows how being in the right company—among trusted friends, family, and colleagues—can help unlock a better you. They push you to fulfill you potential and help you stay committed to the goal.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness
In a now-viral post on social media, Hidilyn humbly sought help and support from private companies and admitted that she was struggling financially to train for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It’s not easy for anyone to admit they need help, more so publicly via social media. But, to Hidilyn, set her pride aside for the sake of her dream to bring honor to her country. And Manulife, believing in her capabilities as a world-class athlete since the beginning of her career, was one of the first companies to immediately reach out to her to give her the support she needed.
Hard work pays off
It’s not enough to dream; you must plan for it and work hard for it. Hidilyn understood this well and was patient. Even at a young age, she knew she wanted to compete, and so every effort, every triumph and defeat were directed towards getting better and getting closer to that goal—even if it seemed too big and too far. And she did it!
Hidilyn Diaz is nothing short of an inspiration, having overcome numerous obstacles and failures to get to where she is now. And where she is now is on top of the world and in a league of own.
Sources
Lessons from Hidilyn Diaz https://www.manulife.com.ph/about-us/blog/go-for-gold.html
Hidlyn Diaz - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidilyn_Diaz
Photo #3 - https://belomed.com/the-base/hidilyn-diaz-for-belo/