Until Monday, the Philippines, a sports-mad country of nearly 110 million people, had never won an Olympic gold medal.
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But Hidilyn Diaz, a weightlifter at her fourth Olympics, finally broke the Philippines’ nearly century-long drought by capturing a gold in the women’s 55kg division, achieving two Olympic records in the process.
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“It’s unbelievable,” she said, caressing the gold medal hanging on her neck. “I expected to win, but when you hold this already, it’s like, Wow, I never thought this would happen.”
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Diaz, 30, said that her record-breaking 127kg lift in the clean and jerk event was the first time she had successfully hefted that much weight.
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Her father expressed his delight as Diaz's family crowed on to the porch back home on the Philippines to watch her victory.
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She also claimed another Olympic record for the total of her two best lifts, one in the snatch and the other in the clean and jerk.
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Diaz is already a celebrity in Zamboanga in the south of the Philippines, but her victory has catapulted to national and global fame.
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Diaz won silver at Rio, but the sky is the limit now she is the first Filipino to get gold around their neck.
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Diaz has been elevated to the sporting celebrity status reserved for Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, and she is already making plans for Paris 2024.
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