Filipino athlete Hidilyn Diaz competes in the women’s 55kg weightlifting event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo International Forum on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP)
Something must have stirred in Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo after she watched her nephew climb the medal platform during the medal ceremony at the recent Philippine Sports Commission Batang Pinoy Games.
The country’s prominent weightlifter, who became the first Filipino to win a gold medal at the Olympics, now craves another shot at glory at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
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“I want to compete in Los Angeles. I think I can still do it,” Diaz-Naranjo said after Team HD won in the Games’ weightlifting competitions, showcasing the best Filipino youth athletes from 30 sports.
Diaz-Naranjo ended nearly a century of waiting for an Olympic champion when she won the women’s 55-kilogram weightlifting class at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, held in 2021 due to the pandemic.
But when the Olympics restructured its sport’s weight classes, Diaz-Naranjo’s 55kg was among the weight classes removed to streamline competition. As a result, she was forced to compete in the heavier 59 kg class, where she lost to teammate Elreen Ann Ando in the qualification process.
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Four Olympic appearances
She had previously suggested that Paris would be her last Olympics, even using the hashtag #lastlift. But Diaz-Naranjo has never officially stated that she will retire, and has even said that she would like to compete for the country in the future.
The now 33-year-old sports icon from Zamboanga City competed in four Olympics, winning a silver medal at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Games before finally winning gold in Tokyo. She began her Olympic career in Beijing in 2008. She will be 37 years old at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Diaz-Naranjo and her husband Julius Naranjo continue to train aspiring weightlifters and brought the best young stars from their grassroots training camp in Jalajala, Rizal Province, to the meet in Puerto Princesa City last week.
They boosted the strength of their team, which won four gold medals in weightlifting, including Team HD’s Matthew Diaz (boys 43 kg – 13 years old) and Adonis Ramos Jr. (boys 55 kg – 17 years old).
“I was really excited when my nephew won gold. Here in Puerto Princesa, I participated in my first Batang Pinoy in 2001,” Diaz-Naranjo told the Inquirer.
Although Los Angeles is still four years away, Diaz-Naranjo still feels excitement when she imagines competing on the sport’s biggest stage. However, she will not yet decide on her desire to compete in Los Angeles.
“I will know if I am ready to qualify for the Olympics two years before Los Angeles,” Diaz-Naranjo said.
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“A lot of things could potentially happen in four years. We don’t know. But if I decide to take part in the Olympics again, I will give my best in training again,” she added. INQ