HIDILYN Diaz broke barriers in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she became the first-ever athlete from the Philippines to win a gold medal in the quadrennial spectacle.
Entering another Olympic cycle, the 34-year-old pride of Zamboanga City is looking for one last dance, and she’ll have the perfect stage to do so.
With the Summer games set to hit Los Angeles in 2028, this gives Diaz the chance to close out her career with a ‘Hollywood’ ending after an awe-inspiring run which saw her bring the sport of weightlifting to mainstream relevance with her golden conquest in Tokyo.
READ on PEP: Hidilyn Diaz eyes LA-st Dance
In an exclusive interview with Pep.ph, Diaz revealed her plans for her last run, while also sharing how she’s also trying to conceive a baby with her husband and coach Julius Naranjo
"Still aiming for [one] last [Olympics] Los Angeles 2028, then I will be retiring already,” Diaz said. “But in the middle of that, sana magkaroon na then let's see. Kasi hindi natin masabi kung kailan ako mabuntis. Ayun nga, last dance, but I'm aiming for Los Angeles.”
Regardless of what happens, whether they’re blessed with a child in this stretch moving forward, she’ll continue to shoot for her final Olympic dream.
"Actually we're trying. We're trying, we're trying. But again, you cannot tell hanggang sa nandun ka. Open na now na, nandito na, di ba? Sana meron na,” she said.
"Actually, plano ko, plano pa lang, e. I don't know paano maging situation ko kapag buntis.”
If there’s one person who can juggle impending motherhood and her responsibilities as an athlete, it’s Diaz, someone who hasn’t shied away from challenges – evident in her slow rise to weightlifting Olympic supremacy.
"Pero magte-training ako kahit light, magba-barbell pa rin ako, magba-barbell pa rin. And then after that I will train with the support ng family. And I know I can do it. Los Angeles will be my last dance,” she said.
‘HD’ might take a backseat in LA… and that’s OK
Diaz recently went back to active competition, breaking a lengthy hiatus and took home silver in the National Weightlifting Champions in Dumaguete last week.
The 34-year-old finished second to fellow Olympian Elreen Ando whose total of 220KGs (95KG snatch,125KG clean and jerk) bested Diaz’s 202KGs (87KG snatch, 115KG clean and jerk).
Still it’s still a decent performance for Diaz, especially with Ando looking more and more like the country’s top bet in the coming Games after a strong sixth-place finish in Paris.
And for Diaz? That’s totally fine. Having athletes like Ando now take the shine over her years after her golden conquest in Tokyo is exactly what she envisioned.
“For me to be the best, it's not only winning a gold medal. It's also helping others and leading other people to be successful as well,” she said.
"So, it's more on giving back already for me. And I'm happy na nung nanalo ako, ginamit ako ng Panginoon to inspire others and to lead others and to serve others.”
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