Diaz boosts Tokyo 2020 Olympic push with gold medals in Rome
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
OLYMPIC weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz fortified her push for a spot at the Tokyo 2020 Games after hauling gold medals at the Roma Weightlifting World Cup on Tuesday night (Manila time).
The Zamboanga native, who won a silver medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, dominated the competition in the women’s 55kg category held in Rome, Italy, lifting 93kg in snatch and 119kg in clean and jerk for a total lift of 212kg.
She finished ahead of Ukraine’s Kamila Konotop (196kg) and Tunisia’s Nouha Landoulsi (194kg).
The win enhanced her world ranking in the women’s 55kg category where she currently sits at number four, trailing three Chinese weightlifters.
In the Tokyo Olympics, happening from July 24 to Aug. 9, only the top eight weightlifters will be competing with each country having only one representative.
In such a setup, if the Olympics started today, Ms. Diaz will be ranked second, very much in the thick of qualification.
Ms. Diaz is angling to join pole-vaulter EJ Obiena and gymnast Carlos Yulo, who to date are the only Filipino athletes qualified for the Olympics later this year.
She is also hoping to make it to her fourth straight Summer Games appearance.
Ms. Diaz’s triumph in the Roma World Cup came on the heels of her gold medal outing in the 30th Southeast Asian Games here in December.
She vowed to do her best to make another go in the Olympics and take a shot at that elusive gold medal for the Philippines.
Next for Ms. Diaz is the International Weightlifting Federation Asian Championships in Kazakhstan in April.
