Hidilyn bares high hopes for rising star Ian delos Santos, Philippine weightlifting

MANILA, Philippines -- From one trailblazer to the next. 

Following Ian delos Santos’ record-breaking performance in the 2026 Asian Games, Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz said the future of weightlifting is as bright as ever. 

Delos Santos brought home a bronze medal in the men’s 70 kilogram weightlifting competition with a total weight of 324 kilograms. 

The 20-year-old tallied 141 kilograms in snatch and 183 kilograms in clean and jerk. In the process, he set the new junior Asian record and the junior world record.

In an interview with Philstar.com on Saturday, Diaz said that she is “so happy” that despite the young age of delos Santos, he has broken records. 

“He breaks the record of Asian junior record holder siya. And then world record holder din siya. So I'm so happy for him,” she said. 

“And I'm so happy for our country na pinapakita natin na hindi yan sa height, hindi yan sa age, kung hindi nasa interest ng atleta. At makikita niyo naman na Pilipino si Ian at malakas. So kayo din, kaya niyo rin,” she added. 

“Hindi yan, 'babae lang ako.' Babae ako, malakas din ako. Lalaki din, malakas din tayo.” 

But more than delos Santos’ exploits in Japan, Diaz also voiced optimism with the future of weightlifting. 

“Weightlifting in general, sa Pilipinas maraming natin ang atleta ngayon and then sa Asian Games, nanalo si Ian de los Santos. So good numbers pa rin. As you can see, malapit na tayo magka dalawang medal noong last time. So hoping na mas… sa Olympics may mas marami pa tayong ma-qualify,” she said. 

She also pushed for more weight categories and an elementary category for those who want to compete in weightlifting. 

“Ngayon nasa Palarong Pambansa na ang weightlifting. So mas marami pa tayong makikita atleta na maglalaro sa weightlifting,” she said. 

“And then hoping na magdagdag ng weight category sa weightlifting and hoping na may elementary category para mag-start tayo from elementary hanggang sa after eight years meron na tayong mga athlete elite level na for Olympics.” 

Diaz was in attendance at the All Out Games (AOG) functional fitness competition at the Filinvest Tent in Muntinlupa.

As part of the competition, Diaz’ Hidilyn Diaz Weightlifting Academy, PEP Project and Tondo Weightlifting Club will get a portion of AOG proceeds as support. 

“So happy to see now our sport is growing and there's a lot of interest also for weightlifting and more awareness for our sport here with our CrossFit community,” she said. 

“For us, we got the support from All Out Games to have a platform here to showcase weightlifting and at the same time, All Out Games is giving support to our grassroots clubs, weightlifting clubs and also to us, the Hidilyn Diaz Weightlifting Academy. So it helps a lot for us to sustain and also to make the sport grow.”