Hidilyn Diaz: Seizing life with a purpose

The sun’s warmth embraced a sprawling field of green to welcome the morning in Jala-Jala, Rizal. In the middle of the vast lot is one of the triumphant fruits of labor of the country’s first and only Olympic gold medalist, Hidilyn Diaz.

The cheerful stillness was the fitting backdrop for the day’s interview with the weightlifting queen. Fresh from her golden victory in the recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Hidilyn sat in the open-air kubo, quiet but ready, confident but not about to throw her weight around. She begins to answer questions in the lightest of tones, but with the heaviest of convictions.

Weight on her shoulders

That Hidilyn didn’t have it easy growing up is no secret. The Zamboanga native started at eleven years old, with a cousin as her first coach. Back then she would practice with makeshift barbells made with a PVC pipe with tin can-molded concrete on both ends, or jeepney mag wheels.

Before high school, she joined the extension program for weightlifting at the University of Zamboanga. Meager resources prompted Hidilyn to wash jeepneys and sell vegetables and fish so she can have money to go to her training sessions. She would later go on to compete in local and national competitions, and at age 13, Hidilyn became part of the Philippine national weightlifting team.

Just you weight

Perhaps it was these not-so-ideal conditions growing up that prepared Hidilyn for the challenges ahead. The first half of her Olympic campaign witnessed her struggle to make it to the upper weightlifting rankings, and get enough funding for her training.

It was only in the 2016 Rio Olympics when Hidilyn began to etch her mark after bringing home a silver medal, the first for the Philippines in the Summer Olympics in 20 years. Then the pandemic hit and stranded Hidilyn in Malaysia for over a year, bringing about anxiety and magnifying the already persistent challenge of being away from her family.

Hidilyn persevered amid all of these, and her resilience paid off when she earned the Philippines its first-ever Olympic gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. When asked about her success, Hidi is not one to brush off the hardships and just rest on her laurels. She is thoroughly aware that her career entailed a lot of hard work and sacrifice from the beginning. Hidi would repeatedly say, “Mahirap ang pinagdaanan ko, madaming challenges…mahirap talaga ang training pero kinakaya”.

Worth the weight

As if her achievements as an athlete need further validation, the Olympic record-holder is in the business of continuous improvement. Apart from setting her sights on another gold in the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Philippine Air Force staff sergeant is also pursuing her college degree, while priming herself for her ultimate goal of being a wife and mother.

While still at her peak, the 30-year-old recognizes that weightlifting has its limit and has already begun to forge her legacy. Weightlifting Academy, the training center that she established in her hometown for aspiring weightlifters gives her a purpose. While she depended on resourcefulness to fulfill her dreams growing up, she is now using her resources that she has to give back to the community.

She is quite the hands-on coach, even while keeping her training schedule. She is more of a mentor – improving her students’ form and building their strength by giving feedback and encouragement drawn from her own experiences. What gives her happiness, she says, is when she sees these next-generation athletes working hard to fulfill their dreams and improve as individuals.

She admits that even a well-trained athlete like her can sometimes feel overwhelmed with the volume of training and the vocation tied with being a sports icon. She mentions that the physical toll on the body is normal and expected. “As an athlete kasi maraming ginagawa, siyempre medyo kulang ang pahinga…Natural ‘yung sakit ng katawan talaga”, she casually muses, not because a seasoned athlete like her is immune to pain, but because she has become an expert in managing it.

When life gives body pain, Hidilyn wants fast relief and she knows that she can only get this from the fastest Ibuprofen + Paracetamol (ALAXAN®) - (ALAXAN® FR).

Ibuprofen + Paracetamol (ALAXAN® FR) has the Fast Relief formula that works in as fast as 15 minutes by directly attacking the inflammation or pamamaga which is the cause of many types of body pain. Ibuprofen + Paracetamol (ALAXAN®) has been tried and tested for more than 50 years. The celebrated gold medalist and Olympian has been winning over pain with the help of Ibuprofen + Paracetamol (ALAXAN®) since she started her Olympic career at sixteen years old.

The first Filipina weightlifter to compete for the Philippines in the Olympics gave the country its first-ever Olympic gold in 2021, and another golden badge in the SEA Games this year. Hidilyn Diaz is proof that with enough determination, every struggle has its redemption. Hers was a battle that may have taken years to win, but with it is a fight that will continue to live its purpose.

For more information, visit the UNILAB website on why you should choose Alaxan for body pains and how to take medicines without worry. 

If symptoms persist, consult your doctor. 

ASC Ref. Code : U190P060722AS