ZAMBOANGA CITY – Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar celebrated the victory of Zamboangueña weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz for winning the country’s first-ever gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Hidilyn Diaz's father, Eduardo, speaks to her daughter in Jakarta August 22, 2018 via video call on his mobile phone from Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
The Olympics tweeted: “HISTORY MADE! Hidilyn Diaz (Weightlifting) gives the Philippines its first ever Gold Medal in the Olympic Games with a win in the Women’s 55kg in Tokyo 2020!”
Salazar called on fellow Zamboangueños to offer prayers for Diaz’s feat. “Con Dios todo gloria y abrazos de La Virgen del Pilar y San Jose. Gracias por tu fuerza y Inspiracion Hidy! Hija de Zamboanga!” (To God be the glory and with the grace of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, thank you for your efforts and inspiration Hidy, the daughter of Zamboanga,” she said in a statement posted on her Facebook page.
“Zamboanga’s pride. Our home-grown Olympian Hidilyn Diaz makes history again as the Philippines' first Olympic gold medallist at the weightlifting women's 55kg event at the Tokyo Olympics! Enhorabuena (congratulations)! We are proud of you, Hidilyn!” the mayor added.
Salazar was not immediately available for an interview, but one of her aides said the mayor was ecstatic and nearly cried after watching Diaz winning the gold medal. “She was literally jumping, very happy and almost cried. The mayor was emotional because it not only gave us our first gold medal, but pride for all Filipinos and the country,” he aide told The Zamboanga Post by phone.
The Olympics also tweeted: “HISTORY MADE! Hidilyn Diaz (Weightlifting) gives the Philippines its first ever Gold Medal in the Olympic Games with a win in the Women’s 55kg in Tokyo 2020!”
Local restaurateur and bodybuilder Pedro Alavar said Diaz’s win brings pride to all Filipinos. “It brings us honor and pride. She’s been practicing all her life, and she deserves it,” he said.
“This is an honor for the country and we have a Zamboangueña weightlifter Olympic gold medallist,” said Sammy Dantes, who works out at the Sky Gym here.
Diaz’s family could not be immediately contacted for a statement, but in August 2018 when she won a gold medal in the Asian Games in Jakarta, her father, a former motorcycle taxi driver, Eduardo said “It was God’s answer to our prayers and we thanked God for the graces he showered us, especially Hidilyn, who really trained hard for this games.”
He said Hidilyn gave him enough money to start a small fish pond business in their village, Mampang, about 10 kilometers from downtown Zamboanga. Diaz also built a small gym in her village. “I now take care of our fish pond, it is not too big, just about two hectares,” Eduardo said.
His tricycle, which bears a painting of Hidilyn lifting a barbell, was then being driven by a relative. The family also has a small car which was given by the Universidad de Zamboanga to Hidilyn for winning silver in the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Eduardo said his daughter started lifting weight at age 9 and had been training hard with her cousins in the family’s backyard and sometimes in a private gym if she had extra money. “She started training at nine years old with her cousins, who influenced her to join them and lift weights,” he said. (Zamboanga Post)
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