Tag: weightlifting

Hidilyn Diaz wins 2nd weightlifting gold at SEA Games, targets Olympics defense

  HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Philippine hero Hidilyn Diaz won a second straight weightlifting gold at the SEA Games on Friday, calling it a first step towards the defence of her Olympic crown at Paris 2024. Facing off against five opponents in the women’s 55 kg category, the 31-year-old Tokyo Olympic champion easily beat most of them in Hanoi as she lifted a total weight of 206 kg. Although well short of the 224 kg […]

Pres. Duterte awards Hidilyn Diaz Presidential Medal of Merit, gives her an add’l P3M

President also gives Hidilyn fully furnished house and lot in Zamboanga as he congratulates her for Olympic gold medal finish   (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte congratulated weightlifting champion Hidilyn Diaz for winning the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and rewarded her with an additional P3 million, aside from the monetary incentive earlier provided by the government. President Duterte also awarded Diaz the Presidential Medal of Merit, and […]

Sacrifice, exile: how Filipina Hidilyn Diaz made Olympic history

by Daniel HICKS Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Triumphant weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz will now forget the years of exile, sacrifice, training and nutrition that took her to the Philippines’ first Olympic gold by tucking into her favourite sweet passions, cheesecake and bubble tea. “Yes I will eat a lot tonight,” she smiled as she told AFP of her plans after her final massive 127kg lift eclipsed China’s world record holder Liao Qiuyun in […]

‘So proud’: Hidilyn Diaz hailed for historic Olympic gold

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — With their eyes glued to a television in the southern Philippines, the family of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz yelled “push, push, push!” as she hoisted the bar to win the country’s first Olympic gold medal. “Then we erupted in joy — we were shouting, some shed tears of joy,” Emelita Diaz told AFP Tuesday, a day after watching her daughter’s historic performance in Tokyo — far from her hometown of Zamboanga. “We […]

Far from home: Weightlifter’s quest for first Philippines Olympic gold

by Patrick LEE JASIN, Malaysia (AFP) — Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz grunts with the effort of hoisting a barbell over her head in an outdoor makeshift gym ringed by banana and rambutan trees as trucks thunder past — an unlikely training base for a shot at Olympic gold in Tokyo. Diaz, 30, who took silver at Rio 2016, has been stuck in Malaysia since February last year because of the coronavirus pandemic but has remained […]

Snappy salute: Philippines hails Diaz for Asian Games lift

  MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines saluted Asian Games gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz on Wednesday as the soldier-weightlifter gave the basketball-mad nation a lift after a heartbreaking hoops loss to China. Footage of the tearful Diaz, the silver medallist from the Rio Olympics, saluting the flag after Tuesday’s victory brought goosebumps to Filipinos following the Indonesia event. President Rodrigo Duterte excitedly announced in a speech late Tuesday that the country had broken its gold […]

President Duterte on Hidilyn’s gold medal finish in 2018 Asian Games: “Wow”

(Eagle News)–“Wow.” President Rodrigo Duterte had this to say after learning weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won a gold medal in the Asian Games. The President made the comment even after he wrapped up his speech before the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Visayas cluster on Tuesday, Aug. 21. “Hidilyn Diaz. Ito yung sundalo. Sundalo ‘to ng Philippine Army. Wow. That’s the message,” the President said. He indicated he wanted to congratulate the Airwoman personally himself “kung may panahon […]

AFP congratulates Airwoman Hidilyn Diaz for gold medal finish in Asian Games

(Eagle News)–The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday, Aug. 21, congratulated one of its own, Hidilyn Diaz, for her gold medal finish in the Asian Games. “Airwoman Firstclass (AW1C) Diaz epitomizes the diligence, perseverance, hard work, and dedication not only of every airman, soldier, sailor, and marine, but of every Filipino who triumphs over all adversities and challenges,” AFP spokesperson Edgard Arevalo said in a statement. According to Arevalo,  the military salutes Diaz for “her […]

Weightlifter Diaz wins first 2018 Asian Games gold for Philippines

  by Daniel Hicks Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the Philippines’ first gold medal of the 2018 Asian Games and “proud Indonesian” Eko Yuli Irawan triumphed for the hosts on a pulsating day of action Tuesday. Diaz, the silver medallist from the Rio Olympics, pipped Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermetova by just one kilogram to win the women’s 53kg class. Earlier Irawan, also a silver medallist in Rio, dominated the men’s […]