MANILA – Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo failed to land a podium finish in the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Zamboanga City-native Diaz-Naranjo, a gold medal winner in the 55-kilogram event in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, settled for a seventh-place finish in the women’s 59-kilogram category.
The 32-year-old Filipina weightlifter placed 11th overall in the snatch category with 97 kilograms, while she landed in sixth place in the clean and jerk category with 224 kilograms.
This was Diaz-Naranjo’s second competition in the 59-kilogram category after capturing a gold medal in the Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas National Weightlifting Championships in Bacolod City with a 217-kilogram lift.
Diaz-Naranjo opted to shift to the much heavier 59-kilogram category after the organizers of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris opted to scrap the 55-kilogram event, where the Filipina lifter captured her Olympic gold.
With her Saudi Arabia world stint over, Diaz-Naranjo has already completed three of the five required tournaments to make it to her fifth consecutive Olympics appearance next year.
There are two more mandatory tournaments lined up for Diaz-Naranjo — the 2024 Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Feb. 20–27 and the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, on April 2–11, where she needs to stay within the top 10.
Diaz-Naranjo’s fellow Filipina lifter, Elreen Aldo, finished right behind her with a total of 222-kilogram lift — 100 kilograms in the snatch event and 122 kilograms in the clean and jerk event.
China’s Luo Shifang netted the gold in the category after tallying a total of 243 kilograms; Ukraine’s Kamila Konotop came in second with 236 kilograms; and Pei Xinyo of China ranked third with 232 kilograms.
Filipino John Ceniza, meanwhile, finished fifth in the 61-kilogram men’s division after netting 296 kilograms, while Rosegie Ramos landed seventh in the 49-kilogram women’s division./PN
