ILOCOS NORTE – Sharing the same genetics as the athlete who gifted the Philippines its first-ever Olympic gold medal, Matthew Diaz dreams of one day seeing himself representing the nation on the world’s grandest sporting stage.
And it may seem like a long shot for now, but the young weightlifter is already setting his sights on that goal.
“Halos po lahat ng ka-pamilya ko nasa weightlifting kaya sinunod ko po ‘yung hilig nila at gusto ko rin po maglaro sa Olympics parang siya (Hidilyn Diaz). Na-inspire niya po ako, gusto ko na rin po na maging Olympian po,” the young Diaz told GMA News Online.
“Gusto ko rin po ma-achieve. Pinu-push ko po ‘yug sarili ko para makarating po ako sa rank na ‘yun sa Olympics.”
[Almost all of my family is into weightlifting so I followed what they liked and I’d also like to compete in the Olympics like her. She inspired me, I also want to become an Olympian… I also want to achieve that. I push myself so that I can reach that rank in the Olympics.]
Zaldy Mallari, Matthew’s head coach for two years now, believes the youthful lifter has the potential to make it big one day, and not just because of his famous surname, but also because of his own raw talent.
Matthew proved that on Monday when he ruled the secondary boys’ 48kg division in the demonstration event of weightlifting in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa at the Laoag Central Elementary School in Ilocos Norte.
Matthew lifted 73kg in snatch and 93 kg in clean and jerk to cap off his performance in front of no less than Hidilyn herself, who is currently serving as the tournament director.
“Actually, talagang malakas ‘yung bata. Siguro, it’s because nakikita niya sa tita niya. At the same time, nando’n ‘yung equipment so mahalaga kasi ‘yun,” Mallari told in a separate interview.
“Sa bawat training namin kasama namin ‘yung tita niya, kasabay namin, nando’n ‘yung tita niya para suportahan at para sabihin kung ano ‘yung tama o mali. Kaya ako, as a coach, hindi ako masyadong nahirapan because Olympian ‘yung nagtuturo din sa kanya.”
[Actually, the kid is really strong. I guess it’s because he sees what his aunt does. At the same time, there’s the equipment and that’s very important… In all of our training, his aunt is there with us, she’s there to support and to tell him what’s right or wrong. So for me as a coach, I don’t have a hard time because it’s an Olympian that teaches him also.]
—JMB, GMA Integrated News