Hidilyn Diaz

She was coached by Tony Agustin, and they projected a 225 kg lift, above her personal best of 219 kg. She successfully lifted a personal best of 97 kg in the snatch, 12th best among the 19 competitors.

However her 118 kg clean and jerk was unsuccessful after three attempts.

She was one of two competitors (along with Lina Rivas of Colombia) to end with an official result of "Did not finish" (DNF) in the event.

This made her the first female weightlifter to compete for the Philippines in the Olympics, and the sixth weightlifter overall (the first being Rodrigo del Rosario competing in 1948 London Olympics).

Hidilyn "Hidi" Francisco Diaz-Naranjo (born February 20, 1991 ) is a Filipino weightlifter and airwoman.

Diaz's first competition was the 2002 Batang Pinoy in Puerto Princesa.

She went on to compete in various local and national competitions and secured support from the local government.

Diaz became part of the Philippine national weightlifting team at age 13.

In her early weightlifting years, she was a bronze medalist in the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand and achieved 10th place at the 2006 Asian Games in the 53-kilogram class.

While she was a student and representing Universidad de Zamboanga, she won two golds and one silver in the Asian Youth/Junior Weightlifting Championship held in Jeonju, South Korea.

Competing in the women's 58-kg class, 17-year-old Diaz lifted 85-kg in the snatch and 107-kg in the clean and jerk for a 192-kg total, breaking the Philippine record that she herself set at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.

Although she placed second to last in a field of 12 weightlifters, her performance was praised and considered promising for her age.

Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez once commented that she competed there to gain valuable experience and predicted that she would be a strong contender in future competitions.

Diaz became the first Filipina weightlifter to compete in two consecutive Olympics, by qualifying in the women's weightlifting under 58 kg through the Continental and World Qualifying Tournaments.

She was ranked ninth in her event heading to the Olympics.

She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she was the youngest competitor in the women's 58-kg category.

Diaz was selected as a wild card entry to the Beijing Olympics by the Philippine Weightlifting Association in early 2008.

During the 2012 London Olympics, Diaz was chosen to be the flagbearer during the Opening Ceremony.

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Diaz won the silver medal in the women's 53-kg weight division, the first Filipino to win a medal in a non-boxing event since 1936 and ending the Philippines' 20-year Olympic medal drought.

On July 26, 2021, at the 2020 Summer Olympics for the women's 55 kg category for weightlifting, Diaz won the first ever gold medal for the Philippines, becoming the first Filipino to ever win an Olympic gold medal for the country.

She also set Olympic records for the 55 kg division in the clean and jerk at 127 kg and in the total at 224 kg.

Hidilyn Francisco Diaz is the fifth of six children of Eduardo and Emelita Diaz.

Her father was a tricycle driver before becoming a farmer and a fisherman.

She grew up wanting to be a banker and trying several sports, like basketball and volleyball.

Her cousin, Allen Jayfrus Diaz, taught her the basics of weightlifting.

Diaz attended the Zamboanga A.E. Colleges (later Universidad de Zamboanga; UZ) for her high school studies under a scholarship.

In college, she pursued a bachelor's degree in computer science at the same school.

She then stopped attending the university as a third year irregular student as she found her degree unsuitable for her.

She also claimed that it distracted her training.

After her success in the 2016 Olympics, Diaz decided to continue her tertiary education and intended to pursue a degree related to sports in Manila.

In January 2017, Diaz received a scholarship to study business management at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

In 2019, Diaz took a leave of absence from her schooling while she focused on preparation for the Olympics after winning the Asian Games.

She holds two Olympic records in weightlifting for her performance at the women's 55 kg category for weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

In 2020, Diaz re-enrolled into online classes because the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed to July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July 2023, Diaz graduated from Saint Benilde and earned her business management degree.

First learning weightlifting from her older cousins, Diaz initially lifted using makeshift barbells made of mag wheels or concrete.

Prior to high school, Diaz joined the University of Zamboanga's (UZ) extension program to train in weightlifting under her cousin Catalino Diaz who was also her first coach.

Elementary students not enrolled in UZ were able to train under the program of Institute of Human Kinetics director Elbert Atilano.

She had to do part-time work to fund her transportation to a local gymnasium.

Her part-time jobs were selling vegetables and fish and washing jeepneys.