Weightlifting
Hidilyn Diaz wins Philippines' first-ever Olympic gold medal
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz defeated the World Champion from China, Liao Qiuyun, in the women's 55kg to achieve this feat.
Hidilyn Diaz on the podium in Tokyo (Source: Philippine Star)
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz bagged the first-ever gold medal for the Philippines in their Olympics history today. She defeated the World Champion from China, Liao Qiuyun, in the women's 55kg to achieve this feat at the ongoing 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 30-year-old lifted a total of 224kg – 97 in snatch and 127 in clean and jerk, to clinch the yellow metal in Tokyo.
Competing in her fourth Olympic Games, Hidilyn Diaz also became only the second athlete from the Philippines to win multiple Olympic medals. She had previously won the silver medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games by the virtue of which she ended the country's 20-year medal drought at the Olympics.
It was a momentous occasion for the Philippines, which has been a regular participant at the Olympics since 1924 in Paris and had a medal tally of 3 silvers and 7 bronze before this.
China's Liao Qiuyun (221kg) Kazakhstan's Zulfiya Chinshanlo took home the silver and bronze respectively behind Hidliyn Diaz, who also serves in the Philippines Air Force.