WITH HER gold medal — the country’s first in the Olympics — Hidilyn Diaz has already made history. But what makes her victory even more powerful are the struggles she faced on the road to Tokyo 2020.
Like many of us, Diaz spent a big part of the pandemic “stuck inside the four corners of my room since March 2020,” as she wrote in the 2021 book Winning Still. Released a month before the Olympics, it is a compilation of essays from 27 Filipino athletes and coaches, who all reflected on how their sports, and lives, changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, Team HD was marooned in Malaysia, which became her adopted home for the next year. For Diaz (and, we suspect, everyone else), online meetings and webinars were a major part of her daily life during the global crisis. Those always excited her.
“Every time I have a webinar, I get excited to dress up and do my makeup,” she wrote. “I love this feeling of excitement to prepare and look good, especially during this pandemic.”
Diaz’s love for makeup is well documented. In fact, after her gold medal win, Ever Bilena — a longtime supporter — even gifted her P1 million worth of beauty products.
But in the book, Hidilyn talks about how makeup is a key tool in her arsenal, and her identity, as a weightlifter.
How makeup is important for Hidilyn Diaz
With nervousness plaguing her before major competitions, Diaz says, “I apply makeup on myself to make me feel prepared and confident.”
She adds, “The process is an enjoyable, welcome distraction that makes me focus on the task at hand.”
Moreover, wearing makeup allows her to assert her feminine side, in a sport that’s long been seen as “un-ladylike.” (Even by Diaz’s own mother!)
“I want to represent the women in sports,” she writes in her chapter in the book, which is titled, appropriately enough, “Si Malakas at Si Maganda.” “Just because I do weightlifting, it doesn’t mean I can’t wear lipstick. I can be strong and beautiful, and be an Olympic champion and a woman too!”
Talk about manifesting. She wrote her chapter long before the Tokyo Olympics. At the time, her silver medal at Rio meant that Diaz was, yes, already an Olympic champion. But a month after the book was released, she would go on to win the nation’s first gold.
Beauty and strength, indeed.
Aside from Hidilyn Diaz’s chapter, Winning Still also features essays from Gilas coach Sandy Arespacochaga, jiu-jitsu fighter and children’s rights activist Meggie Ochoa, champion billiards player Rubilen Amit, Choco Mucho coach Oliver Almadro, Gilas assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga, and more. Head over to the book’s Facebook page to find out more.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph