Hidilyn Diaz has not officially qualified yet and the holding of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics hangs in the balance because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but she is not about to give up on her Olympic dream.
Japan Olympic Committee deputy chief Kozo Tashima said he himself had contracted coronavirus. He insists, however, there's no deadline to call off the event and that it was still going ahead as planned.
Hidilyn remains hopeful that the Olympics will be held as scheduled and that she officially makes it soon. She continues to work hard, trains diligently and is thankful for the people who supported her including Kaffea Coffee which is a constant companion when she trains.
“Kaffea Coffee kasi isa sa company na sumusuporta sa akin noon pa. Nagbibigay kulay ito sa aking umaga. Ang gusto ko sa Kaffea masarap pero guilt-free dahil sa coconut sugar,” said Hidilyn.
Her hard work and sacrifice have certainly borne fruit. She won gold in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines.
This January she won three golds in the 55-kilogram women’s division in the 2020 Weightlifting World Cup in Italy.
“I thought noong nagka three golds ako masaya ako kasi iniisip ko yung mga tao sa likod ng success kong ito. Mga sacrifices nila at syempre mga sacrifices ko rin. Lahat naman nagbunga,” said Hidilyn.
She is currently ranked no. 5 in in the world in the 55-kilogram women’s category. She is behind Chinese lifters in Jiang Huihua, Liao Qiuyun, Zhang Wangqiong and Li Yajun.
Under the International Weightlifting Federation rules the top eight athletes per category, but only one per country, will gain Olympic spots. She is virtually a shoe-in but needs to compete in one more IWF event to formalize her entry.
“I still need to compete in one more Olympic qualifying then okay na po ako. No doubt naman ako na makakapunta ako sa Tokyo. Medyo mahirap lang ang qualifying ng weightlifting ngayon,” said Hidilyn.
The 29-year-old Hidilyn is in in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia now. She had hoped to compete in a qualifying tournament in Europe and another in South America.
The two IWF qualifying events to the Tokyo Olympics have been scrubbed recently. But if the Olympics are held as scheduled or postponed to a later date Hidilyn is almost certainly qualified.
Unlike many who will be happy to just compete in Tokyo Hidilyn will be going there to win. She has worked hard, sacrificed for many years and is ready to win the first Olympic gold for the Philippines.