TOKYO Olympics’ gold medallist Hidilyn Diaz is elated and excited to compete again.
Diaz said this as she shifts to a lower weight category when she returns to action in the coming Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
The 34-year-old Diaz will have four months to prepare for the women’s 58-kg weight class after more than a year’s absence from competition. She last competed in the 59-kg division at the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships in South Korea, where she placed 4th and failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics the following year.
“I said yes. And I have four months to prepare, although nagte-training naman ako,” said Diaz. “Pero iba talaga when you are training for something big.”
Diaz discussed her plans after she met with Olympic triple-gold medallist fencer Lee Kiefer and her husband and Olympian Gerek Meinhardt last Friday.
She was around with her husband Julius Naranjo when Kiefer and Meinhardt dropped by the Philsports Complex in Pasig to hold a fencing clinic for young aspirants and members of the national fencing team.
The new category that Diaz is in has compelled her to lose weight during her preparations.
“Medyo natatakot ako. Parang bago. And I have to drop weight,” added Diaz, who added she gave her commitment for the the SEAG when asked by Samahang Weighlifting ng Pilipinas chief Monico Puentevella.
Her decision to get listed in the 58-kg category came after the 59-kg and 55-kg classes were not included in the coming Thailand SEA Games.
When Diaz saw action in 2022 in the Hanoi SEAG, she won the gold medal in the 55-kg action, a category which was absent in the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia and the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she was bumped off from the lone slot by teammate Elreen Ando.
Diaz is getting off a busy schedule after organizing the inaugural staging of the weightlifting meet in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa.
Diaz said she has been involved in talks with the Philippine Sports Commission and the Department of Education in helping regularize weightlifting events in the Palaro.
The PSC, through chairman Patrick Gregorio, has committed to provide the needed equipment for the games and has informed Education Secretary Sonny Angara of their plans, according to Diaz.
