HIDILYN Diaz was in tears after her bid to qualify for the Paris Games and gain a shot at a second Olympic gold medal came to a stunning end.
Diaz lifted 222 kilograms in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup, not enough to make her the best Filipina in the Olympic qualification stage. That distinction belonged to Elreen Ando, who registered 228kg to likely capture the Paris spot in the women’s 59kg division.
READ Hidilyn Diaz unlikely to make Olympics after loss to Ando at World Cup
Ando’s performance was seen as a passing of the torch and the likely end of a legendary career for Diaz, still the only Filipino gold medalist in the Olympics.
In a story ran by IWF.sport, Diaz appeared undecided on what lies ahead for the 33-year-old.
“I love this sport, I don’t want to stop. But what I have to do now is take a good rest and think about the priorities in my life,” said Diaz.
“Today wasn’t my day, Paris was not to be,” she said.
Diaz has been weighing her future in the sport since capturing the gold medal in Tokyo in 2021, until she decided to give Paris another shot. Diaz also got married to his longtime coach Julius Naranjo in 2022.
There were a lot challenges in her Paris bid, and the biggest was her move to the 59kg class after the 55kg category where Diaz won the gold was scrapped.
“But overall, I’m happy. I’ve given a lot to this sport and it’s given a lot to me,” Diaz said.
Naranjo remains happy with the result of their preparation, saying Ando deserves the spot in the Olympics.
“We finally can end the countdown to Paris as (Ando) is well-deserving and a better athlete yesterday,” said Naranjo in an Instagram post.
“We gave it our best. Hidilyn is still a legend,” said Naranjo in a separate interview with IWF.sport.
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