A poignant scene unfolded — captured in a single frame: Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino giving the country’s first Olympic gold medalist, Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, a consoling embrace.
“You’re still the queen,” Tolentino assures Diaz-Naranjo, moments after she narrowly missed qualifying for the weightlifting competitions of the Paris Olympics.
Bambol hails Hidilyn
“You are still our champion. You deserve all the honor and respect for giving our country its first gold medal,” Tolentino told Diaz-Naranjo.
Three years prior, at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Diaz — prior to marrying coach and trainer Julius Naranjo — embraced Tolentino in extreme delight, tears of joy streaming down her face as the realization of winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal sunk in at the Tokyo International Forum.
Fast forward to Wednesday night in Phuket, where Diaz-Naranjo, competing in a weight division three kilos heavier than the -56 kgs category where she triumphed in Tokyo, finished 11th in the International Weightlifting Federation World Cup, the final qualifier for Paris.
Diaz misses Paris Olympics
Although not entirely unexpected, Diaz-Naranjo was inconsolable after missing the bus on what would have been her fifth straight Olympics.
“'I’m sorry, Cong, I’m sorry … ," she repeatedly apologized to Tolentino, who, as the head of the national cycling association during Diaz-Naranjo’s Olympic debut as a 17-year-old in Beijing 2008, had followed the rise of the Zamboanga City pride.
“You don’t have to say sorry, anak. You’re still the queen, a legend,” Tolentino told Diaz-Naranjo.
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