It’s back to school for Hidilyn

MANILA, Philippines - Rio Olympic women’s 53-kilogram weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz plans to go back to school in January but it won’t mean taking her off track in pursuing the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Diaz said yesterday she’ll balance her time in the classroom and gym without compromising her commitment to either education or sports.

College of St. Benilde athletic director Stephen Fernandez, who claimed a bronze medal when taekwondo was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, confirmed that the school is preparing a scholarship offer for Diaz. “Right now, we’re in the process of finding out which program Hidilyn is interested in,” he said. “We’ll also be looking into what units she has earned so far so we know what her starting point is. We’re excited to welcome Hidilyn to St. Benilde and the La Salle family. She will be our symbol of excellence.”

Fernandez said St. Benilde’s priority for Diaz is education. “Hidilyn would be a big boost to our sports program as a motivator but we’re not looking at her involvement in sports as a priority,” he said. “Education is our primary concern. Besides, weightlifting is not an NCAA sport. It will take a different level of discussion to even bring up weightlifting as a possible future sport in the NCAA because the deliberations will involve all the other schools. As an Olympic medalist, Hidilyn will be a source of pride not only for St. Benilde but also for the NCAA where St. Benilde is a member school.”

Diaz, 25, said she stopped going to school at the Universidad de Zamboanga in 2008 to focus on her weightlifting aspirations. She was then a third year irregular student taking up computer science. That was the year when Diaz made her Olympic debut in Beijing. She went on to compete at the 2012 London before finally nailing a podium finish in Rio this year.

“Competing in Beijing and London helped me in Rio because of the experience,” she said. “I wasn’t as nervous anymore on the platform. I felt I could’ve done better if I wasn’t injured. But that’s how it is in sports. You just try your best to bring honor to your country.” Diaz lifted 88 in the snatch and 112 in the clean and jerk to total 200 kilograms for the silver medal in Rio. Chinese-Taipei’s Hsu Shu Ching picked up 212 for the gold. Hot favorite Li Yajun of China carried 101 in the snatch but failed to register a score in the clean and jerk with unsuccessful lifts of 123, 126 and 126 to wind up last among 13 competitors.

Diaz said in the past, she’s lifted up to 102 in the snatch and 123 in the clean and jerk. If she totalled 225 in Rio, Diaz would’ve been the runaway gold medal winner. Diaz said she’s determined to clinch the elusive gold in her fourth Olympic appearance in Tokyo.

At the moment, Diaz said she’s keeping trim by going to the gym for fitness workouts twice or thrice a week but she’s still not lifting weights. “I don’t want my muscles to relax and tighten up,” she said. “That’s why I need to go to the gym. I plan to finish all my media commitments before restarting my training in weightlifting.”

Diaz said she’s got her sights set on two weightlifting competitions to be held in Malaysia next year – the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 19-31 and the World Championships in Penang on Oct. 17-25. She’s been invited to compete at the 4th International Qatar Cup in Doha on Dec. 15-18 but she’s not sure of participating. There’s another invitational meet in Thailand in April next year and maybe, that will be her first competition since Rio. Nothing is final in her schedule right now. Diaz will confer with national coach Dondon Aldanete on a timetable.

Diaz said going back to school is important in preparing for the future. “I’m still deciding what course to take,” she said. “It could be something related to sports like sports science or to business like export management. I’ll be submitting my school transcript to find out which of my units in computer science could be credited. If I start in January, I’ll manage my load so I won’t sacrifice my hours in training. I don’t know how long it will take before I graduate, that will depend on which of my past units can be credited and the load I can manage while training.”