Hidilyn Diaz only wins the gold that her collection lacks

Having fame, fortune, being a wife and very little time for herself didn’t stop Hidilyn Diaz from giving her best as she stared down her bid to qualify for Paris 2024 on the move swashbuckling Thursday by winning three gold medals in the 55-kilogram division of the World Weightlifting Championship in Bogota, Colombia, to collect the only material missing from his medal collection.

The 31-year-old, who won the only gold medal up for grabs in the same division at the Tokyo Olympics last year, was top in the snatch, clean and jerk and total in the Colombian capital as she finally reigned over the Worlds while getting it. the bid for Paris, where the Philippines’ second gold medal at the Games can be won, is on track.

“Finally I [get a] winning at the World Championships,” Diaz told the International Weightlifting Federation website after the victory. “I’m so happy about that.”

Diaz snatched a total of 93kg for her first gold medal before dominating the clean and jerk with an effort of 114. She failed to improve, however, falling short at 117 and 121 as she was attempting to set a personal best for the year.

Her total of 207kg was eight kilos better than Rosalba Morales’ effort for the silver medal.

No absurd preparation

Diaz and the rest of the HD team prepared well for this, arriving in Colombia ahead of the rest of the peloton to acclimatise, a factor that caused many others to fall, Bogota being 2,640 meters below altitude.

The PH contingent first set up camp in the United States before traveling to Colombia a week before the competition.

“It was good timing because it’s the last time I will compete at 55kg,” said Diaz, who will have to choose between going down to 49kg or going up to 59kg in Paris.

After winning in Tokyo, Diaz was naturally the country’s toast last year. It was a victory that not only wrote history, but kept it busy with numerous appearances, commercial shoots and his own work to give something back to the sport.

“It’s really hard to get famous,” Diaz told the website. “I was able to control it, but it’s very difficult time management.”

Diaz also tied the knot with his longtime coach Julius Naranjo earlier this year.

“[This win] is absolutely amazing,” said Philippine Weightlifting Federation President Monico Puentevella. “It shows his incredible commitment.”

“This recent breakthrough by Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz is proof that Filipinos are strong and talented individuals,” Philippine Olympic Committee President Bambol Tolentino said in a statement released to media.

“We are truly grateful to Team HD as this is the result of hard work,” the statement read. “[This latest achievement is] a combination of determination, continuous training and confidence.”

Collect Dream Medals

To say that Diaz is the best Filipina athlete of her generation is an understatement, as she completed a collection of medals that others could only dream of.

Prior to being queen of the Tokyo Games, Diaz bagged gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and Asian Championships. She could once again be the Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Year.

The Bogota event is a mandatory event on the slate of qualifying events for Paris 2024, where Diaz will hope to win a second consecutive gold medal even after his old division was dropped from the events.

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