Philippines win first ever Olympic gold medal

Philippines win first ever Olympic gold medal. Hidilyn Diaz has taken gold at the Tokyo games.

Hidilyn is 30 years old and set an Olympic record after lifting a combined weight of a staggering 224 kilograms. This meant that the weightlifter secured gold in the women’s 55-kg class.

Her route to the Olympics has not been easy as due to coronavirus restrictions her preparation and training were disrupted. She had been heading for a competition in Peru when new coronavirus restrictions hit. This meant that she spent several months being stranded in Malaysia.

This did not put her off though and she used her lockdown time wisely. In one Instagram video she was seen to be carrying on training even though she was lacking her equipment. The video showed her using water bottles attached to a wooden stick.

The caption said: “Yes, I do this. I carry a bottle of water for my weightlifting training. Its hard but we survive, still living the dream in my heart,”

At Tokyo after her win she burst into tears and celebrated with her coaches. As she stood on the podium she was seen to point to the Philippines flag on her jersey while proudly displaying her medal.

Harry Roque, the Philippines Presidential spokesperson took to Twitter to congratulate her for “bringing pride and glory” to the Philippines.

“The entire Filipino nation is proud of you,” added Roque. This is not Hidilyn’s only Olympic medal as she won silver in Rio in 2016.

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