MANILA – Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz is not yet retiring from her sport but is non-committal if she can defend her Olympic gold medal in the women’s 55-kilogram division come the 2024 Paris Olympics.
According to the Zamboanga City native Diaz, she reconsidered her decision to call it quits and is looking to represent the country anew in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and Asian Games next year.
“Hindi ako magsa-stop (sa weightlifting) kasi kaya ko pa. Nakita ko ang galing ko at may ibibigay pa ako para sa Pilipinas,” Diaz said in a virtual presser from Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday morning.
“Kaya ko pa mag-compete sa SEA Games and Asian Games. Pero natatakot ako for the Paris (2024 Olympics) pero kung ang lakas po andun, tuloy-tuloy tayo,” added the 30-year-old Filipina lifter.
Diaz clinched the country’s first-ever gold medal on Monday night after topping the women’s 55-kilogram division with her total of 227 kilogram lift – 97 kilograms (kg) in Snatch and Olympic record of 127 kg in the Clean and Jerk.
A silver medalist in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Diaz admitted that she was still in disbelief over her triumph in the Olympics since she has never lifted 127 kg before, even in training.
Diaz also gave credit to those who supported her as well as the challenges she endured – the lack of financial support for her training and her inclusion in President Rodrigo Duterte’s ouster matrix – for her inspired showing in Tokyo.
“Ang dami kong pinagdaanan, after winning sa Olympics, ang hirap mag-sustain. Nag-9/9 ako [sa isang competition] tapos nagkaroon ng matrix, sobrang gulo ng buhay ko nung time na ‘yun,” she said.
“And then, we decided I have to stop in school (Saint Benilde) para mag-training. I sacrificed a lot. Hindi ko nakasama ‘yung tatay at nanay ko. Lahat masakit sa training pero worth it naman,” she added./PN
