DUBAI: The elusive Olympic gold medal for the Philippines has finally been clinched after 97- year drought when Hidilyn Diaz triumphed Monday night in women’s 55-kilogram weightlifting at the Tokyo Games.
Since 1924, the country has been competing at every edition of the Summer Olympics except for a boycott of the Moscow Games in 1980. Prior to Diaz’ golden victory, Filipino athletes had scored three silver and seven bronze medals in previous editions.
Diaz’ overall lift of 224 kilograms was also an Olympic record.
The weightlifting queen, who burst into tears on her performance, has inspired an entire nation — even those currently abroad — that’s still grappling with the effects of the global pandemic.
In the UAE, the Pinay athlete has sent his kababayans into a frenzy, cheering on this incredible ‘booster shot’ for the country’s pride and morale amid the pandemic.
Her victory also coincided with higher UAE Dirham to Philippine peso exchange rate, which kicked at 13.7 on Tuesday from a 13.22 finish last Monday.
The 30-year-old Olympic champion said in an online press conference on Tuesday that she’s grateful for bringing home the first-ever gold medal after almost 10 decades.
“Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na nanalo ako ng gold. Pero sobrang thankful ako,” she said. “Ito ang first time ko magbuhat ng 127kg… Mentally, physically, emotionally prepared ako kaya nagawa ko ‘yon.”
However, her victory did not come easy as the battle for the gold medal went down the wire between her and China’s Liao Qiuyun in the clean-and-jerk lift.
Liao lifted 126kg in her final lift, prompting the 2016 Rio Olympics Filipino silver medalist to take it up a notch higher at 127kg.
Even after clinching the historic feat, Diaz said she’s more determined than ever to rewrite history.
“Hindi ako magsa-stop kasi kaya ko pa. Nakita ko ang galing ko at may ibibigay pa ako para sa Pilipinas,” she said. “Naiuwi na natin ang medal, walang imposible.”
Earlier after her victory, she told international media: “It’s a dream come true. I just want to say that we Filipinos are strong. We Filipinos can compete here at the Olympics. We can do it.”
As a piece of advice to younger Filipino athletes, she added: “Please dream high… That’s how I started. I dreamed high and finally, I was able to do it.”
Diaz has also assured herself of at least PHP33 million from the government as well as various business tycoons and companies who pledged monetary rewards to the Filipino gold medal winners.
