History was made in Riocentro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday when Hidilyn Diaz was awarded a silver Olympic medal for her performance in the 53-kg weightlifting division. This marks the first time in 20 years since the Philippines has taken home an Olympic medal, by a woman at that.
Yahoo! Sports reports that the last Olympic medal won by the Philippines was back in 1996, when Mansueto Velasco won a silver medal in boxing in the Atlanta Games. Diaz, who hails from Zamboanga, first competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at just 17 years old. This year's Olympics is the third time for Diaz, who recorded 88-kg and 112-kg, for a total of 22-kg, right next to the Taiwanese Hsu Shu-Ching, who recorded 212-kg, and Korea's Korean Yoon Jin Hee, who she beat with a very slim margin, with 199-kg.
Diaz admitted that her win came by the grace of God, whose presence she felt during the competition. While she thought she could only bag the bronze medal, she was awarded with the silver, Inquirer reports. Meanwhile, the newly elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed his delight in Diaz's win, Manila Bulletin reports.
"The Philippines and the President is honoured and proud of Hidilyn Diaz’s Silver Medal win at the Rio Olympics," Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement. "We extend our sincerest congratulations and celebrate the end of the medal drought. Truly change has come."
Diaz is expected to receive a cash prize from the Philippine government amounting to at least P5 million, under the incentive program for Olympic medalists. In addition, she will be heading to the United States to accept a university scholarship to further her studies. Diaz's journey to the Olympics began in 2014, when she won a gold medal during the 2015 Asian championships and a bronze medal during the 2015 IWF world championship.