FILIPINO WEIGHTLIFTER Hidilyn Diaz successfully secured a gold medal in the women’s 55-kilogram division of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics—ending her nation’s nearly century-long wait for an Olympic champion. The Filipino started the event by clearing 94 kg in her first snatch attempt and an impressive 97 kg in her second attempt. However, Diaz was outlifted by Uzbekistan’s Muattar Nabieva with a 98 kg clear—with Diaz attempting an unsuccessful challenge of her own at 99 kg.
She then went head-to-head with China’s Liao Quiyun who tied Diaz with a 97 kg snatch and set the Olympic record with a 126 kg lift in the clean and jerk, receiving 223 kg in total. In the final lift, Diaz clinched toe gold with her own Olympic record of 127 kg in the clean and jerk, resulting in a total of 224 kg.
Worth the heavy load
The Filipino was faced with significant odds given Qiuyun’s status as the reigning gold medalist of the 2020 Asian Championships—where Diaz herself was left behind in fourth place. “It’s unbelievable, it’s a dream come true…I’m looking forward now to enjoy[ing] my life after so many sacrifices,” said the Filipino Olympian in an interview with the Agence France-Presse after her incredible stint on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Despite her record-setting achievements, Diaz’s journey was not an easy one as she struggled with a lack of support and sponsorships that impacted her training regimen. Another hurdle she faced while training were the COVID-19 restrictions that forced the Filipino to spend her last 18 months in Malaysia where she trained with only makeshift equipment such as water bottles and sticks.Training woes aside, the 30-year-old Filipino’s worries were exacerbated when she was included in a matrix of names that alleged her involvement in anti-administration plots.
In the face of all these challenges, the proud Zamboanga native had already made a historical feat before when she won Olympic Silver and ended the Philippines’ 20-year Olympic medal drought back in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The gold from Diaz in the 2020 Olympic Games is only the 11th Philippine Olympic medal in history—and the lone gold since the nation first competed in the Olympics in 1924.
Diaz is now only the second Filipino athlete to win multiple Olympic medals alongside Teofilo Yldefonso, who won bronze in the men’s 200m breaststroke event in 1928 and 1932.
The beginning of excellence
Representing the nation in her Olympic debut, Olympian Elreen Ann Ando ranked seventh out of 10 contestants in the Women’s Weightlifting 64 kg category last July 27 at the Tokyo International Forum. The 22-year-old cleared 100 kg in the snatch and 122 kg in the clean and jerk rounds, en route to a personal best total weight of 222 kg in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Stepping onto the platform for her first attempt at the snatch, Ando successfully lifted 96 kg with relative ease. Ando’s second snatch attempt at 99 kg was a different affair as her attempt was ruled unsuccessful due to her knees making contact with the floor. In her final snatch attempt, the Filipino weightlifter compensated for her previous lift by powering through 100 kg—ranking her at ninth place as the event entered the clean and jerk round.
Riding on this momentum, Ando comfortably lifted 118 kg off the platform to secure a successful first attempt at the clean and jerk. However, the Filipino Olympian fell off in her second attempt at 122 kg due to poor recovery in the clean, exhausting her before throwing the bar overhead. With her final attempt still at play, Ando returned to the stage and cleared 122 kg to conclude her participation in the event.
Despite her admirable performance, Ando was unable to secure a medal as she finished the competition at a humble seventh place. Taking the top spot was Canada’s Maude Charron with a 236 kg total, followed by Italy’s Giorgia Bordignon in second with a 232 kg total, and Chinese Taipei’s Wen-Huei Chen in third with a 230 kg total.
