A weight of difference

TOKYO – Call it providential or a stroke of luck but in this year’s Olympics, the creation of a new weight class in women’s weightlifting and women’s boxing proved to be just what the doctor ordered for Hidilyn Diaz and Nesthy Petecio to make history. In Diaz’ case, the 55 kilogram division was introduced in the Olympic calendar as the 53 class was scrapped and the 58 category was adjusted to 59. With Petecio, the 57 kilogram featherweight division was added to the program as women’s boxing, which made its Olympic debut in 2012, went from three classes to five in the spirit of gender equality and men were reduced from 10 to eight.

Weight is a critical factor in both sports and the classifications level the playing field to give competitors a fighting chance to excel. When Diaz was an Olympic rookie in Beijing in 2008, she competed in the 58 kilogram division and finished 10th of 12. In 2012, she stayed in the same weight class and walked off the stage after failing to complete a hoist of 118 in three clean-and-jerk attempts. Then, Diaz dropped down to 53 and that was the key to claiming a silver in Rio.

In her fourth Olympics, Diaz found herself in a more comfortable weight category. At 55, she didn’t have to burn so much weight and could bring up her power from 53. It was the perfect weight for Diaz because she had outgrown 53 and 58 was a little too heavy for her frame. The result was a breakthrough as Diaz ended the country’s 97-year wait for its first Olympic gold medal.

Petecio wasn’t considered in two previous Olympics because she was too big for the 51 kilogram flyweight division and too small for the 60 kilogram lightweight class. She somehow couldn’t fit in. ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson said Petecio tried her luck from 51 to 60 and found her niche at 57. This year, the Olympics retained the flyweight, lightweight and 75 kilogram middleweight divisions and added the 57 featherweight and 69 welterweight classes. In 2019, Petecio topped the AIBA Women’s World Championships and the SEA Games both in the featherweight division so she was primed to shine in the Olympics.

While Diaz has struck gold, Petecio is a win away from making it. She battles hometowner Sena Irie for the featherweight gold at the Kokugikan Arena this afternoon. They’ve met each other thrice before with Petecio winning once and losing twice. In their first encounter, Irie won, 3-2, at the Asian Boxing Confederation Women’s Championships in Bankgok in 2019. Later that same year, Petecio avenged the setback by outpointing Irie, 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the AIBA Women’s World Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia. In March last year, Irie pounded out a 4-1 decision over Petecio at the Asia/Oceania Olympic Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan. If Petecio wins, she’ll be the first-ever Olympic featherweight gold medalist in women’s boxing. Diaz is in the history books as the first Olympic 55 kilogram gold medalist in women’s weightlifting. It’s come down to a weighting game.