The Woman with a Golden Heart

A woman grew interested after watching her cousins lift an improvised barbell; she tried it and was intrigued, so she began lugging improvised barbells constructed out of milk cans and even cement.

She began competing at the age of 11 in several cities throughout the Philippines, particularly in Palawan. She also won her first bronze medal in 2007, but she did so at the expense of her college studies in order to compete, and she received an opportunity to train in China for three months, as well as an invitation to the Olympics. Her career continued till she earned the Philippines' first gold medal in Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Photo from AP

Hidilyn Diaz is the best thing that has ever happened to the country's athletics. Hidilyn set a world record by lifting 127 kilograms in the 55-kilogram class division of the weightlifting competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, upsetting world champion Liao Qiuyun of China, which Edillon characterized as "a feather in our cap,” and giving the Philippines its first gold medal in 97 years of competition.

The win of Diaz at the Tokyo International Forum altered the dominant narrative about the Philippines in the Olympics, dramatically, as the first Filipino Olympian to bring home the gold medal. For a long time, finding methods to better the country’s sporting program meant sifting through the ruins of yet another catastrophic Olympic campaign, seeking a black box of sorts to ensure that the same mistakes weren’t made again.

“Lahat tayo nagsisimula sa wala. Pero hindi ibig sabihin na failure ka today, failure ka na buong buhay mo, akala ko hindi ko ‘to masu-survive. Pero at the end of day, nanaig ang pagmamahal ko sa ginagawa ko, pagmamahal ko sa Pilipinas at pagmamahal ko sa Diyos. Sa mga kabataan, kabataang Pilipino, mangarap kayo, mangarap ng mataas kagaya ni Ate Hidilyn. Akala ko impossible pero with God and by working hard possible pala.” (We all start at nothing. But that doesn't imply you've always been a failure; that you’ve been a failure your whole life. I didn't think I'd be able to make it. But, in the end, my passion for what I do, my love for the Philippines, and my faith in God triumphed. To the youth, especially the Filipino youth, dream big like Ate Hidilyn. I believed it was impossible, but it is doable with God and hard effort.) Hidilyn stated in an interview on the prayer channel.

There were stumbling blocks in the way of gaining the gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Early in life, she had to haul buckets of water every day for her family, who lived in a run-down region without running water. She had to deal as well with a lot of unwarranted bad comments, uncontrollable haters, financial issues, and a lack of support but for her, it becomes an inspiration, lesson, and a source of strength to keep moving forward in spite of seemingly endless breakdowns.

Hidilyn Diaz's journey reminds us to constantly put our hearts and souls into the things we enjoy doing, and to always dream big and believe we can achieve it. Prayer and practice are both important. We must also put up much effort in order to realize our ambitions. Everything is possible with God.

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