LAOAG CITY — When Hidilyn Diaz lifted the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold medal in 2021, one question followed: ‘What’s next?’
It wasn’t just for her alone, but for the weightlifting community as a whole.
Four years since her historic breakthrough in Tokyo, the Filipina weightlifter is now seeing the sport grow as seen in its inaugural inclusion in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa currently held in Ilocos Norte.
Although the sport remains a demonstration event, Diaz is still beaming with joy in seeing weightlifting making its much awaited debut in the premier national event for student-athletes in the grassroots level.
“Dream come true [ito] kasi nga for how many years pinapangarap ko ‘to, and hindi lang ako [pero] lahat ng nasa weightlifting community, na ma-include itong weightlifting,” Diaz told several members of media on Sunday at the Laoag Central Elementary School.
“Para sa akin kasi, I won the silver, I won the gold in the Olympics, pero ayun nga… what’s next? It’s good that I won the gold pero paano ko siya dadalhin sa next generation.”
Diaz knew what it’s like to start from the ground up despite lacking the local platform to compete at such as the Palarong Pambansa.
But even then, she persevered and slowly made her name starting with a maiden Olympic appearance in 2008 in Beijing, then in the 2012 London Games. Her first Olympic medal came in 2016 in Brazil before capturing the gold medal in Tokyo five years later.
Diaz hopes the next generation of weightlifters will gain the proper exposure right from the local levels, adding that the Palarong Pambansa will help nurture the athletes early on.
“Para sa akin, napakaimportante kasi ‘yung mga bata na may nilu-look forward na sila kasi ang Palarong Pambansa, hindi lang siya national eh, may district pa, may provincial, may regional,” Diaz added.
“Kung pupunta ka sa each region, mas marami pang talented athletes na meron diyan and makikita natin na ang Palarong Pambansa ay giving them the opportunity to excel sa weightlifting.”
In the ongoing Palarong Pambansa, 70 athletes across nine regions will participate in the weightlifting demonstration event that will feature five weight categories each for the boys and girls’ divisions.
The inclusion marks a significant step in Diaz’s bid to make weightlifting a regular sport in the Palaro, though she emphasized that it must still go through the proper process and meet established criteria before it can be officially added.
“Yes may mga criteria, may proseso. Pero ang sabi is kailangan maging popular ang sports, kailangan maraming participants, at ‘yung mga regionals ay interested to make it a regular sports. Hoping na sana next year [mangyari].”
—JKC, GMA Integrated News