Manila, Philippines, April 11, 2024: The Philippines’ first and only Olympic Games champion, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, has posted a lengthy message on her Facebook account after missing out on a place at Paris 2024. Diaz, who won gold at Tokyo 2020 in the women’s 55kg category, spoke about her future and vowed to continue lifting weights in order to inspire the next generation of athletes.
Now 33, Diaz had to move up to 59kg to challenge for a place at Paris, but her bid for a fifth consecutive Olympic appearance fell short as she was overshadowed by teammate Elreen Ando at the IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand.
On Thursday afternoon, Diaz sent a message to her fans in typically buoyant mood with “long post alert” to kick things off.
“The result was not according to what I wanted and planned. But Thy will be done. It was not my day and Paris 2024 is not for me,” she said.
“Congratulations to all the weightlifters around the world who qualified in Paris 2024, especially the Filipino athletes, and to the athletes who did their best in the last Olympic qualifying competition. We did great, we fought hard, and we did our best for our country.”
She added: “It’s the end of my Paris 2024 Olympic journey. I will still lift, continue to lift, and inspire young Filipino athletes to become Olympic champions. Thank you to everyone for the love and support.”
Under the heading “Lesson learned”, she continues:
“I realized what is forever: and it is not FAME, not money, not even winning or losing, but God, family, and real friends. These are my FOREVER. Thank you for your heartfelt messages of love and support.
“Winning is not everything; it is being on the platform and taking on the challenges that give inspiration to other athletes. Thank you to the athletes who messaged me and said that I inspired them. I served and will continue to serve my purpose in weightlifting, as I inspire many athletes to dream high, take the challenge, and work hard to achieve their dreams and never give up. Just LIFT! You can do it.”
Diaz concluded: “The Olympics and weightlifting are not my everything. I sacrificed a lot of my time to train and sometimes I forget to enjoy the process because I am caught with the high expectations and high pressure of being an elite athlete.
“This moment is for me to learn new skills - join classes and workshops to learn to cook and bake. I have long wanted to take culinary courses since I was 22 years old, and now, I will not just imagine doing pasta, pizza, and kare-kare, I will bake and cook some for my friends and family.
“I will also learn to do business and invest myself in education to be a better sports leader. I have a lot of things to learn in life.
“I truly believe God has a better plan. I trust Him and, for now, because of my love for God, weightlifting, my country and for all of you… I will continue to LIFT everything - all in God’s hands!”
Diaz made her Olympic Games debut at Beijing 2008 and won a silver medal at Rio 2016 and gold in Tokyo, becoming a national celebrity at home and for the millions of Filipinos around the world.
