Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz keeps making history at theSummer Olympics.
She lifted more weight — 127kg — than ever before, she said.
“It’s unbelievable,” she said afterward. “I expected to win, but when you hold this already, it’s like, ‘Wow, I never thought this would happen today.’ "
Her gold is the first-ever for her country. “So happy,” her momtold a local media outletin the Philippines not long after.
The two have not seen each other for more than a year, because ofCOVID-19, but Diaz’s mom has been messaging words of support: “Good luck … I miss you,” she wrote.
Diaz, 30, is the first woman from the Philippines to win multiple medals; she joins Teófilo Yldefonso, who won two bronzes in breaststroke swimming nearly a century ago.
“I want to say to the [Filipino] people that we can do it. We are proud,” she told reporters on Monday.
“I know that Zamboanga [her home city] is really proud of me and all of the Philippines is,” Diaz said. “I did not give up during the pandemic. I am really thankful. Winning the gold medal is a really big thing for me and all of the Philippine people.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
