TOKYO—Sleepless yet looking fresh, Hidilyn Diaz pondered on the dream-like quality of her latest achievement.
“I still can’t believe that I won the gold,” she told reporters in Filipino during a Zoom conference on Tuesday. “Until now, when I’m holding the medal, I still can’t believe it.”
She has reason to be astounded.
Her gold medal feat in the Tokyo Games was forged by a 127-kilogram lift in the clean and jerk, which ended up being the Olympic record of the 55-kg women’s division in weightlifting, which fed into a 224-kg total, also an Olympic mark.
And Diaz hadn’t lifted 127 kgs before. Not even in training.
Philippines’ Hidilyn Diaz competes in the women’s 55kg weightlifting competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP)
In fact, the weight has been some sort of an annoyance to Diaz and her training team.
“Every time I try that weight, I end up not making the lift and I get frustrated. Sometimes I cry,” Diaz said.
“My coaches bear the brunt of my frustration because I get really moody during training when I try to lift 127 and fail.”
“But at least I tried it.”
Going toe-to-toe with Chinese world record holder Liao Qiuyun, who played her final lift cautiously, Diaz stared at a one kilogram deficit and needed that 127 to clinch the gold. She succeeded, thus relegating Liao, also the reigning world champion in their division, to the silver medal.
“I didn’t expect to be able to lift [127],” said Diaz. “That was my first time to lift 127.”
An entire country wouldn’t have had it any other time.
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