NO doubt, Hidilyn Diaz remains the face of Philippine weightlifting.
But she’s happy nonetheless, that a new breed of lifters is now slowly developing as heiress to her throne.
Next Hidilyn?
As she competes in her fourth Olympics in Tokyo, Diaz is proud to see that another Filipina weightlifter will be accompanying her through the journey after young gun Elreen Ando likewise booked a ticket to the quadrennial meet that will kick off a week from now.
“Para sa akin, napakalaking bagay na may sumusunod na mga bata sa Olympics,” said the 30-year-old Olympic silver medalist in Episode 3 of the documentary ‘Let’s Go HD!’ aired last July 15 over the Kickstart Coffee Brewed Awakening Facebook page.
Ando will be making her Olympic debut after bagging a silver in the last Southeast Asian Games in the country.
Diaz can see herself in Ando after likewise qualifying in her first Olympic in Beijing in 2008 as an 18-year-old wildcard entry.
Ando is 22 years old.

But there are others behind Ando who’s also waiting in the wings, the likes of Vanessa Sarno, Kristel Macrohon, Margaret Colonia, and Hidilyn’s cousin Mary Flor Diaz.
“Sila ang mga susunod sa akin,” said Diaz, who is eyeing to give the country its first-ever Olympic gold.
While Diaz has yet to decide on whether this would be her final stab at the Olympiad, she said the goal this time is to surpass the silver medal she won in the 2016 edition in Rio De Janeiro.
Diaz is now preparing to leave for Tokyo next week from Malaysia together with her HD Team that includes Chinese coach Kaiwen Gao, strength and conditioning coach Julius Naranjo, sports nutritionist Jeaneth Aro, and sports psychologist Karen Trinidad.
The Filipina is in the 55-kilogram division and considers entries from China, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and host Japan as her strong rivals for the gold.
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