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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Hidylin shares with VP Leni: 'Gold medal comes with responsibility'

Hidylin shares with VP Leni: 'Gold medal comes with responsibility'

Published Aug 1, 2021 11:38 am

It is sinking only now into Philippine Air Force (PAF) Staff Sergeant Hidilyn Diaz's psyche that she is a gold medalist at the Women’s 55kg category for weightlifting of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics --- but already she has realized the huge responsibility put on her shoulders.

Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz is the special guest at Vice President Leni Robredo’s radio show on August 1, 2021. (BISErbisyong Leni/Facebook)

Diaz arrived home from Tokyo two days after lifting an Olympic record of 127kgs on Monday, July 26, to secure the win over her Chinese opponent Liao Qiuyun.

After a flurry of events and activities that saw the Philippines clinch its first-ever gold medal at the international multi-sport event, Diaz is now ready to come to grips with the responsibilities that go with the victory.

“Medyo tanggap ko na, na gold medalist ako. Kasi nung una parang hindi ako makapaniwala then, siguro kahapon ko natanggap nung nakapagpahinga na ako (I have slowly accepted it, that I’m a gold medalist. Because at first, I can’t believe then maybe it was yesterday, I realized it when I had my rest),” Diaz said on Sunday, August. 1

The Olympic gold medalist was the special guest during Vice President Leni Robredo’s weekly radio show over dzXL.

READ: ‘Istorya ng Pag-asa’ champ: Hidilyn Diaz overcomes struggles for PH’s first gold

After winning the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Games at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ending the country’s 20-year medal drought and becoming the first Filipina athlete to win an Olympics medal, the now-gold medalist said she already knew what to expect after the competition.

She mentioned the activities and media interviews that came after her silver-medal win.

Still, she was “overwhelmed” by the amount of attention she has been given after securing the country’s first-ever gold medal at the Olympics.

“Oo nga noh, gold medalist na ako. Pero nakita ko pa rin yung responsibility after the glory (Yes, I’m a gold medalist. But I can also see the responsibility after the glory),” Diaz said.

Her win, Robredo said, came at a “point in time” that the country needed it the most.

“Halos lahat bad news ‘yung ating natatanggap araw-araw. Karamihan dahil dito sa COVID pero ‘yung kanyang pagkapanalo, parang nakalimutan natin lahat iyong kahirapan ng ating pinagdaanan (We’re getting almost all bad news every day. Mainly, it is because of COVID but with her win, it felt like we’ve forgotten all the bad things we went through),” she added.

READ: Robredo hails Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz

“Nagbunyi tayo bilang isang bansa dahil sa kanya. Sabi nga ng iba, ano iyon, parang inalsa niya ‘yung lahat na kabigatan nararamdaman natin (We celebrated as one nation because of her. Other said it’s like she lifted all the hardships we are experiencing).”

Diaz thanked everyone who supported her and her fellow athletes at the Olympics.

“Maraming maraming salamat po kasi syempre thankful ako kasi lahat tayo sumuporta sa mga Filipino athlete at nag-unite tayo, nagsama-sama sa pagpapanood ng laro naming mga atleta. Malaking bagay po sa amin. And sana po mag-unite po tayo as Filipino hindi lang dahil sa Olympics (Thank you very much because of course, I am thankful because all of us supported our Filipino athlete and we united together to watch our games. It is a big thing for us. And I hope we can unite as Filipino not only because of the Olympics),” she said.

Robredo shared having met Diaz for the first time in 2016 after winning the silver medal at the Rio Olympics. She talked about Diaz’s perseverance and determination to excel in her sports.

Related Tags

Hidilyn Diaz VP Leni Robredo Gold Medalist Weightlifting PAF Tokyo Olympics
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