Philippines Weightlifter Wins First Gold Medal

If you are not on track with the Olympics, we have got you covered with the latest news! As Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz the first athlete from the Philippines made history on Monday as she won an Olympics gold medal. 

With a massive effort she hoisted the huge Olympic-record weight and the tears of joy began to flow even before she dropped the bar to the floor after a triumphant effort. 

Liao took the silver, with Kazakhstan's Zulfiya Chinshanlo the bronze 10kg adrift of the top two. 

"It's unbelievable, it's a dream, come true," Diaz told AFP moments after the Philippines Air Force woman shed more tears on the podium as she saluted her flag and sung the national anthem. 

"I want to say to the young generation in the Philippines, 'You can have this dream of gold, too,'" Diaz said. "This is how I started and finally I was able to do it." 

Diaz was already assured a place in her country's sporting folklore, alongside the likes of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, as the only woman from the sprawling archipelago ever to win an Olympic medal — her surprise silver five years ago breaking a 20-year medal drought for the Philippines. 

Diaz spent the last year and a half training in exile in Malaysia because of COVID restrictions, so dedicated was she to claim an unprecedented gold in her fourth and probably final Games. 

"I'm looking forward to going back home to the Philippines to be with my family because I really miss them," she said, choking up once more with emotion. "I'm looking forward now to enjoy my life after so many sacrifices." 

She became a national hero for her exploits in Rio and her profile soared when she won Asian Games gold in Jakarta in 2018. 

Image Source: Bloomberg