In praise of Hidilyn Diaz

Imbued with unwavering desire to keep her family out of poverty, Hidilyn Diaz finally got the Olympic gold medal for weightlifting at the Tokyo World Olympics, making her the first ever Filipino athlete to win the gold medal since 1924 when the Philippines first joined the quadrennial event. It will be recalled that no Filipino athlete ever won a gold medal in the Olympics.

Hidilyn Diaz's victory at the Tokyo Olympics brought our country into the limelight. She irreversibly changed the parochial mentality of many that the weightlifting sport belongs only to the realm of men. That in terms of talents and skills, capabilities and strengths that all men have in common, today's women are undeniably on par with their male counterparts.

Hidilyn Diaz has reached the summit of her dreams in life amidst all the challenges and trials she encountered prior to the holding of the Olympics. In fact, she was included in the matrix calling for the ouster of President Duterte. And she experienced financial difficulties while training in Malaysia for the Olympics even to the extent of appealing for financial assistance from private companies through her social media account.

But what left me in great awe of her was her open-minded character of showing to the public the Miraculous Medal that she wore during the Olympics medalling ceremony symbolizing her faith in Jesus Christ and Mama Mary. She expressed her belief in divine providence that made her win in the Olympics. "Kakaiba si God. Kakaiba si God. Sa lahat ng mga prayer warriors ko sa Pilipinas thank you so much" she said.

Many of us were glued to the television and social media when the weightlifting competition went on. I mean, that particular moment when Hidilyn Diaz turned emotional after lifting the 127 kgs weight (clean and jerk) that earned her the gold medal for weightlifting. On my part, I really wanted to hold back my tears but euphoria overwhelmed me and it made me teary-eyed as well.

I consider it an unforgettable moment when Hidilyn lifted the weight using all the strength at her disposal with her facial appearance showing signs of being heavily-laden, but she made it. She lifted the weight and got the gold medal in weightlifting.

Congratulations Hidilyn Diaz! The Filipino people are very proud of you!

Joselito S. Berdin

Lapu-Lapu City