‘Exciting new chapter’: Hidilyn Diaz serves as Palaro weightlifting tournament director

ILOCOS NORTE, Philippines – Hidilyn Diaz takes on a new role close to her heart.

Diaz, the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic champion, plays a pivotal role in the Palarong Pambansa as she serves as the tournament director for weightlifting, which is now a demo sport in the annual tiff for elementary and high school student-athletes. 

“People have been asking me how I’ve been. Lately, I’ve been on the move — carrying not just weights, but a mission,” Diaz wrote on her social media accounts. 

“Weightlifting is now a demo sport in the Palarong Pambansa and this opens up an exciting new chapter for us.” 

Diaz has advocated the inclusion of weightlifting in the Palaro program, considering it is the sport where the Philippines won its maiden Olympic gold medal when she reigned supreme in the Tokyo Games in 2021.

That feat made the Zamboangueña, who also won a silver in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the second Filipino athlete to win multiple Olympic medals after Ilocano swimming icon Teofilo Yldefonso, whose legacy is being celebrated in the Palaro this year.

Weightlifting has grown in popularity thanks to Diaz, with the Philippines sending three weightlifters — Elreen Ando, Vanessa Sarno, and John Ceniza — to the Paris Games last year. 

Other young weightlifters who have made their marks in the international scene include sisters Rosegie and Rose Jean Ramos.

“These past weeks and months, I’ve been attending meetings, leading orientations, and speaking to schools and communities to help build this foundation. And I know this is just the beginning,” said Diaz.

A total of 10 weightlifting events — 48kg, -52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 60+kg for boys and 40kg, -44kg, 48kg, -53kg, 53+kg for girls — will be contested from May 26 to 29 at the Laoag Central Elementary School. – Rappler.com