PHL Olympic hopeful is one strong woman

For the past four years, 21-year-old Hidilyn Diaz has been training for the single, most important game of her life: the 2012 Olympics.   Diaz is the country’s lone candidate to the Olympic’s weightlifting category, specifically, the 58kg division.  A few short days before she flies to London on Sunday, her training has become more rigorous.   Aside from jogging very early in the morning, Diaz also spends her entire day toning her muscles at the gym.   She admits that there have been times when her body seemed to want to give up from the toil of training, but she would shake it off with the desire to win.   "When it comes to competition, I am really focused and even when I am in front of the barbell, you will hear me yell 'I can do this!'," said Diaz.   Power lifter   Diaz is a native of Zamboanga, and at the age of 11, was introduced to weightlifting by her cousins, who are also on the National team.   From lifting branches of the Ipil tree, Diaz now lifts as much as 225kgs worth of weights. And after a decade of participating in competitions, she has reaped awards both local and international.   Just last year, she bagged the silver medal in China’s Grand Prix, the bronze medal in Malaysia’s World Junior Championship, gold in Thailand’s Asian Junior Championship, and silver in the Southeast Asian games in Indonesia.   Last June, she took the ninth spot in the International Weightlifting Federation’s top 10 list of weightlifters, thus qualifying for the Olympics.   It wasn’t always a steady ride for this athlete though. As a wildcard, she didn’t place in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which resulted in her ramping up her focus and training for the 2012 London Olympics.   She also had to momentarily give up her college education in order to focus on competitions.   "Hidilyn is very persistent in training," says Diaz’s long-time coach Antonio Agustin. "She is a very intelligent athlete and she has determination."   Nevertheless, being the first Pinay weightlifter in the Olympics, Diaz is very proud of what she has achieved, and says that she doesn't lose focus and get intimidated in a sport originally manufactured for men. According to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), it is unusual in the Philippines for a woman to be in weightlifting but, with the success of Diaz, the organization hopes that others would also develop interest. “I don't really know why I like weightlifting especially since training is very hard,” says Diaz who also dreams of becoming part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. “It [weightlifting], just came into my life and I can't live without it." The POC believes that Diaz has an edge over Western weightlifters but needs to be wary of her Asian competitors who have also won various awards. "Who knows, maybe we can snatch a medal. Thank you for all your support and please pray for us,” says Diaz.   Smallest Olympic delegation   Diaz will be joined by ten other athletes: shooter Brian Rosario, swimmers Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Lacuna, judoka Tomohiko Hoshina, long-jumper Marestella Torres, steeplechaser Rene Herrera, cyclist Daniel Caluag, boxer Mark Anthony Barriga, and archers Mark Javier and Rachel Cabral.   With only eleven athletes, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) says that this is the smallest-ever Philippine delegation to the Olympic Games.   “It all boils down to financial support,” says Manuel Lopez, First Vice President of POC. “While the others [countries] were preparing, we weren’t able to keep up. It's a long-term investment and it will take a minimum of at least six years for you to develop a world-class athlete”   Lopez also points to the lack of funding as the reason why Filipino Olympic athletes have not been able to bring home a medal since Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco won a silver in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.   Nevertheless, the POC is hopeful that this year’s Olympic games will smile favorably on the Philippines. The Opening Ceremonies is not until the 27th of July but a first batch of athletes has already left the country yesterday for a pre-game training in London.   “The feeling of the Olympic Games is different; electrifying," says Diaz. "Sometimes you will be overwhelmed [so] we are preparing them not only physically but also mentally and psychologically. As we go to battle, rest assured, 11 will be there to fight for our men and glory.” - AMD, GMA News