Past Olympic setbacks fuel Hidilyn Diaz to push herself in Rio

Hidilyn Diaz ended the Philippines’ 20-year Olympic medal drought with a silver finish in women’s weightlifting.

— The Olympic medal drought has finally ended for the Philippines.

The last athlete to do so — also with a silver medal — was boxer Onyok Velasco at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

“'Yung mga failures ko from the past Olympics, 'yun ang naging rason ko to push myself to 2016,” said Diaz in an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines Sports Desk.

[Translation: Previous Olympic disappointments were what fueled me to push further in Rio.]

According to Diaz, her historic accomplishment had not completely sunk in yet. She said that the win was a blessing.

“Alam kong nag-medal ako pero para sa akin kasi bigay ni God 'yun so hindi ka-overwhelming 'yung feeling,” said Diaz.

Diaz, a native of Zamboanga City, became the first Filipina Olympian to capture a medal.

“Ginawa ko 'yung best para sa country, 'yun lang talaga yung goal tapos mag medal, kasi bronze lang talaga 'yung aim namin ng coach ko,” said Diaz.

[Translation: I know I already won a medal but for me it was given by God so the feeling was not that overwhelming. I did my best for the country, that was the goal, and we were just aiming for the bronze medal.]

Hidilyn struggled in the snatch event, she failed to lift two of her three attempts and just recorded 88 kg for the 6th spot in a group led by China.

But the gutsy Filipina bounced back in the clean and jerk portion.

“Na-discourage ako (sa snatch) pero sabi ng coach ko na wala na kaming magagawa. Sa clean and jerk ako bumawi,” said Diaz who landed with a combined score of 200 kg in the tournament.

Translation: I was discouraged at first, but I got back in the clean and jerk event.

It is still unclear if her Rio performance will be her last.

“Gusto ko ito na ang huli pero hindi ko talaga masabi kung anong mangyayari after this. Kasi mahal na mahal ko ang weightlifting. Hindi ko alam kung kaya ko bang iwanan ang weightlifting. Binibigay ko na lang 'yungdecision kay God,” said Diaz.

[Translation: I want this to be my last but I can't really tell because we really don't know what will happen next. I love weightlifting. I don't know how to leave the sport. I will leave the decision to God.

Diaz is set to receive P5 million from the Philippine government as the incentive in bagging the silver in the Olympics.

“Ngayon gusto kong i-share 'yung mga natutunan ko sa weightlifting sa mga bata,” said Diaz.

[Translation: I want to share the lessons that I've learned in weightlifting to kids.]

Inspiring fellow Filipino athletes

International Olympic Committee Member Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski said Hidilyn's success was an inspiration to her fellow athletes and Olympians as qualifying to the Olympics was not an easy task — more so securing a medal.

“Proud na proud sila kay Hidilyn. They're very happy for her. Alam naman nila kung gaano kalaking challenge 'yung unang unang makarating at makapagcompete dito sa Olympics kasi kailangan talaga mag-qualify based on world standards,” said Cojuangco-Jaworski in a separate interview with CNN Philippines.

[Translation: All the Filipino athletes are proud of Hidilyn. They all know how challenging it is to make it to the Olympic stage.]

“'Yung makapag medal, pangarap ng lahat ng atleta yan. I'm so happy for our athletes because nakikita ko na nagiging inspirasyon ito para sa darating nilang mga laban,” added Cojuangco-Jaworski.

[Translation: To win an Olympic medal is every athlete's dream. I'm happy because our athletes see Hidilyn's win as an inspiration to their upcoming tournaments.]