DIAZ: A FILIPINA GOLD
DIAZ: A FILIPINA GOLD
by Marvin Andrew Co (11C - STEM) | Published March 2022
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Imagine preparing rigorously for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, only to have the pandemic enter the picture and turn the world upside down. Many uncertainties arose because of the pandemic, consequently postponing the 2020 Olympic Games for a whole year. Athletes around the world had no choice but to temporarily put off their training sessions, with the fear of contracting the virus.
Hidilyn Diaz was one of these athletes facing this unfortunate turn of events. She was to represent the Philippines in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics to compete in the Weightlifting Sport.
She first started weightlifting at the age of 11 when it started as a sort of curiosity and had participated in numerous weightlifting competitions. Back in 2014, she suffered a knee injury, but pushed through and went on to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics. There, she competed in the 53kg women’s category in weightlifting, and became the first Filipina to ever win an Olympic medal in the Olympics, winning a silver.
Diaz is also a student at De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde (CSB) on a scholarship studying business management. She took a leave of absence to prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. But when the Olympics was postponed for a year, she was able to take short courses online while preparing for the Olympics in Malaysia.
The journey to a gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics Weightlifting for 55 kg Women’s Category was a hard-fought and long one for Diaz as with any other Olympic athlete. Some might argue that it was even harder for Hidilyn Diaz.
From February 2020 until the Olympics in 2021, Diaz trained in Malaysia and was stranded there due to travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Since training sessions for the Olympics in Malaysia gyms were very rarely available due to the pandemic, she had to be innovative and resourceful to maintain her body for the Olympics. There was a period of time she had to use water bottles as weights and a bamboo pole as the weightlifting bar to hold the two water bottles.
After searching for a place to stay for a while, Hidilyn Diaz, along with her team, was welcomed into the house of the mother-in-law of Ahmad Janius Abdullahin, deputy president of the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation, in the rural town of Jasin where she trained for most of the rest of her stay in Malaysia, only leaving in July for the Olympics.
On July 26, Diaz made history on the third try of the “clean and jerk”, as she successfully lifted 127 kg weights, winning the Gold Medal for the women's 55 kg category in weightlifting.
Hidilyn Diaz, this is the name of a golden Filipina who is the Philippine’s first Olympic gold medalist.
It was a fierce competition for the gold medal, with Diaz beating silver medalist Liao Qiuyun by only 1 kg on the total score, thus setting the new Olympic record of a total of 224 kg for the women's 55 kg category. Immediately after dropping the 127 kg weights, tears of joy could be seen as she clenched her hands together and met with her team. As she received her medal in the awards ceremony for the bout, the Philippines’ national anthem was played at the Olympics for the first time ever. And back in the Philippines, Filipinos were celebrating and rejoicing for the honor that she had brought the nation.
Being the first person to bring home an Olympic gold medal for the Philippines, Hidilyn Diaz is set to be receiving many benefits for the sacrifices she has made in achieving the long-awaited feat such as not being able to be with her family for almost 2 years and being stranded away from home for a long period of time. As of Aug 2, 2021, she was set to be a multi-millionaire, receiving P52.5 million in cash, along with many other benefits, such as a house and lot, a condo unit, free flights, free gas, free meals, etc., from the government, various groups, and people.
In an interview by ANC after winning the gold, Hidilyn Diaz shared how failures made her stronger. “Kaya niyo yan, kaya natin ‘to, paniwalaan niyo ang sarili niyo.”, (“You can do it, we can do it, you must believe in yourselves.”), remarked Hidilyn Diaz, as she encouraged the youth. She also contrasted how she first began from curiosity in weightlifting and eventually won an Olympic gold medal in the sport .
The gold medal was a well-deserved and hard-fought victory for Hidilyn Diaz who balanced her time in training, academics, and personal life. Diaz’s success in the Olympics and life story is a big inspiration to fellow Filipinos and athletes, women especially. With her victory in bringing home the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal, she did not only make history in the Philippines, but also made headlines across the globe.
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