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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Hidilyn Diaz: Olympic titlist wants to become world champ, too

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Filipina superwoman Hidilyn Diaz is already an Olympic champion. Now, she wants to become world champion, too.

Hidilyn Diaz will soon embark the daunting challenge of securing a maiden World Championship title as she resumes her thirst for gold.

After ending the Philippines’ 97-year quest for gold in the Olympic Games, Diaz will soon embark on an equally daunting challenge of securing a maiden World Championship title as she resumes her #ThirstForGold.

While Diaz and her team are still weighing their options on whether to pursue a 5th straight Olympic campaign in Paris three years from now, they have set their sights on three immediate tournaments that are coming – the World Championships in Lima, Peru late this year and the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games and the Hangzhou Asian Games next year.

“One at a time po muna tayo,” said Diaz in a recent online forum. “Sa World Championships muna, then sa SEA Games and Asian Games next year, tapos, assess ulet, tignan natin kung kaya ulet sa Olympics. Pinag iisipan ko pa po, kasi additional three years po na sactifice sa training. Medyo mahirap ang preparation, titignan ko pa din saan kaya ng katawan, saan kaya ng coaches na magsakrispisyo.”

For the meantime, the 30-year-old Diaz is enjoying the long-deserved break as she savors her Olympic triumph.

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“Mahirap i-balance lahat ng pangyayari sa buhay.  Pero it’s (break) a blessing that I need to enjoy kahit saglit lang,” added Diaz.

Diaz said she is now spending less time with her training sessions and just enjoying the moment.

“My training session is less from my usual training before the Olympics. I became so busy with interviews, online events, courtesy calls, online classes,” said Diaz, whose sacrifices begin anew on Sept. 20 as she heads off to Malaysia with coach Julius Naranjo to begin their hard training for the World Championships, slated from Nov. 1 to 7. 

Naranjo is filling in the shoes left off by Diaz's Chinese coach Gao Kaiwen, who headed back to China for good, although he was asked by the team to remain as consultant.

On her road to the Tokyo Olympics, Diaz spent 18 months training in Malaysia when the Philippines was put on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Games Organizing Committee delayed the holding of the quadrennial meet to July, 2021.

Training away from home helped Diaz stay focused on her sessions and nutrition for her Olympic gold medal bid. Throughout her training, Summit has been her hydration partner as the brand believes in her capacity to reach gold.  Since 2018, Diaz has been Summit’s ambassador, with the brand supporting her every step of the way in all of her campaigns, including the recent Tokyo Olympics and the tournaments that she will join in the future.

In the Tokyo Olympics, the weightlifter from Zamboanga edged out world record holder Liao Qiuyun of China for the Philippines' first-ever Olympic gold.

Even before the coming Tokyo games, Diaz was already the most decorated Olympian ever. Her victory in the Tokyo Olympics only added to her greatness, and a fifth appearance in Paris will just solidify her status as the Philippines’ greatest Olympian ever.

But for now, the World Championship beckons.

“Summit Natural Drinking Water, the official hydration partner of Team Philippines, is honored to have been by the side of our Olympians, led by Hidilyn Diaz, in their #ThirstForGold,” says Summit Brand Manager, Francheska Garcia.    

“We again enjoin everyone to rally behind our greatest Olympian as she embarks on a mission in the World Championship to bring honor to the country and show to the whole world the indomitable spirit of the Filipino,” Garcia adds.

Summit Natural Drinking Water has been a constant advocate of the Filipinos’ unyielding spirit in the international sporting arena as it contributes to the training and hydration of the athletes in their #ThirstForGold.

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