Hidilyn Diaz

Hidilyn Diaz

Personal information
Nationality	Filipino
Born	20 February 1991 Zamboanga City, Philippines
Height	1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Weight	52.85 kg (116.5 lb) (2015)
Sport
Sport	Weightlifting
Event(s)	56kg, 53kg
Coached by	Antonio Agustin Jr
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	223 kg (56 kg)
Medal record Women’s weightlifting Competitor for  Philippines World Championships 2015 Houston –53 kg Asian Championships 2015 Phuket –53 kg Southeast Asian Games 2011 Jakarta –58 kg 2013 Naypyidaw –58 kg 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima –58 kg Southeast Asia Championship 2015 Bangkok –53 kg

Hidilyn Diaz^[1] (born 20 February 1991) is a Filipino weightlifter. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics and was also the youngest competitor in the women's 58-kg category in that same Olympics.^[2] She was a bronze medalist in the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand and achieved 10th place at the 2006 Asian Games in the 53-kilogram class. A student of the Universidad de Zamboanga, she also won two golds and one silver in the Asian Youth/Junior Weightlifting Championship held in Jeonju, South Korea.^[3]

2008 Summer Olympics

Diaz was selected as a wild card entry to the Summer Olympics by the Philippine Weightlifting Association in early 2008.^[4] She is the first female weightlifter to compete for the Philippines in the Olympics, and the second weightlifter overall (the first being her coach, Ramon Solis).^[5] Competing in the women's 58-kg class, 17-year-old Diaz lifted 85-kg in the snatch and 107-kg in the clean and jerk for a 192-kg total, breaking the Philippine record that she herself set at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.^[6] Although she placed second to last in a field of 12 weightlifters, her performance was praised and considered promising for her age. Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez once commented that she competed there to gain valuable experience and predicted that she would be a strong contender in future competitions.^[7]

2012 Summer Olympics

Diaz became the first filipina weightlifter to compete in consecutive Olympics, by qualifying in the Women's Weightlifting under 58 kg through the Continental and World Qualifying Tournaments. She was ranked ninth in her event heading to the Olympics. During the 2012 London Olympics Diaz was chosen to be the flagbearer during the Opening Ceremony. ^[8]

She was coached by Tony Agustin, and they projected a 225 kg lift, above her personal best of 219 kg. ^[9] She successfully lifted a personal best of 97 kg in the snatch, 12th best among the 19 competitors. However her 118 kg Clean and Jerk was unsuccessful after three attempts. She is one of two competitors (along with Lina Rivas of Colombia) to end with an official result of "Did not finish" (DNF) in the event.

2015–16 season

Hidilyn Diaz weighed around 56.28 kg during her first Olympic campaign, making her the lightest among competitors. Come 2012 Olympics, Hidilyn Diaz increased her weight to 57.70 kg but still struggled making it to the top half of the competition. Trying to improve her chances of landing a podium finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Diaz decided to drop weight from under 58 kg to under 53 kg. This proved to be effective as she recently snatched the Gold Medal in the 1st Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championship in Bangkok. ^[10] She managed to lift a 98 kg snatch and a 115 kg clean and jerk for a 213 kg total. The same mark is good for 4th place in the 2012 London Olympics.

Diaz also earned three bronze medals for the clean, jerk and snatch events in the 53 kg division of the IWF World Weightlifting Championship held in Houston, Texas on November 22, 2015 to claim a spot in the 2016 Rio Olympics.^[11][12]

On March 2016, Diaz dominated the women's 58kg event of the 2015-16 Philippine National Games National Finals held at Lingayen Town Plaza, Lingayen, Pangasinan, with a 92 kg snatch and 120 kg clean and jerk (new personal best) combined into 212 kg.^[13]

References

1. Official profile at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
2. "15 Filipinos battle odds, Olympic gold ‘curse’", Inquirer.net, August 9, 2008
3. City commends Zamboangueño weightlifters
4. Hidilyn Diaz lifts self to Olympic heights, Manila Standard Today
5. Love can wait for Hidilyn, Manila Standard Today
6. Diaz falters; Walsh up next, Manila Standard Today
7. Diaz, Walsh start bid today, Manila Standard Today
8. , Interaksyon
9. "Hidilyn tries to do better". manilastandardtoday.com. Manila Standard Today. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
10. Reuben Terrado (27 June 2015). "Hidilyn Diaz makes up for SEA Games absence by bagging gold in 1st Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championship". Spin PH. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
11. "Filipina Hidilyn Diaz wins 3 bronzes at World Weightlifting Championship". Rappler. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
12. "PH lifter Hidilyn Diaz books ticket to Rio Olympics". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 28 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
13. "Teodosio nagtala ng juniors record sa Philippine National Games" (in Tagalog). Bandera. March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.