![]() ![]() She took up weightlifting as a child, using plastic pipes that held concrete weights. Her breakthrough performance in Rio earned Diaz a place in Filipinos' hearts, particularly as many were inspired by her personal story of rising out of a childhood marked by poverty to pursue her dreams at the highest level. Sunisa Lee of Team United States poses with her gold medal after winning the Women's All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021. Even before Monday's landmark win, she had secured her place in sports history by winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 - the first medal won by a woman from her country. The clean and jerk has two main movements: Competitors first lift the bar to their shoulders before raising it above their heads.īy winning a long-awaited gold Monday, Diaz even overshadowed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's final State of the Nation address, Rappler reported.ĭiaz, 30, is at her fourth Olympics. ![]() The snatch lift is very fast as weightlifters try to pick up the bar and raise it above their heads in one smooth motion. Liao settled for silver, and Zulfiya Chinshanlo of Kazakhstan won bronze. Diaz responded by lifting 127 kilograms - another Olympic record - which finally broke the Philippines' gold drought. For the following clean and jerk, Liao lifted 126 kilograms (nearly 278 pounds). The gold medal contest came down to Diaz's last lift, thanks to a tight battle with China's Liao Qiuyun, the world record-holder in the event.īoth Diaz and Liao lifted 97 kilograms (about 214 pounds) in their first-round snatch lift. I wasn't able to be with my mother and father for how many months and years and then of course, training was excruciating," Diaz said afterward, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. ![]() Standing where no Filipino had stood before, Diaz, who serves in the Philippine air force, snapped off a salute and sang along to her country's national anthem. The country had been trying to reach the podium's top spot for nearly 100 years: It sent its first Olympic delegation to Paris for the 1924 Games.ĭiaz won gold in the 55-kilogram category of women's weightlifting - and in the process, she also set an Olympic record with her combined weight total of 224 kilograms across two successful lifts.Īfter her historic win, a tearful Diaz celebrated with her coaches before taking the top spot on the podium in Tokyo. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz made history Monday, winning the Philippines' first gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Japan, Italy, Netherlands, Brazil, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei and Turkey also set new records for most medals secured at a single Olympic Games.ĬNN’s Eric Levenson contributed to this report.Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines celebrates winning the women's 55-kilogram weightlifting match at the Tokyo 2020 Games - her country's first Olympic gold medal.Īn Lingjun/CHINASPORTS/VCG via Getty Images “The athletes of Team USA honored themselves, their communities, their families, and all of us with their excellent performances in Tokyo,” said Rick Adams, USOPC chief of sport performance and Team USA chef de mission.Ī record 94 nations won medals at the Tokyo 2020 games, including Turkmenistan, San Marino and Burkina Faso – all of which claimed their first Olympic medals ever. “The Tokyo 2020 Games have been remarkable in so many ways and I’m filled with gratitude and pride.” “We kept our team safe and we’re coming home successful,” said Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Swimmer Caeleb Dressel won five gold medals, making him the winningest athlete of any nation at these Games. Team USA has now won the most medals at the Summer Olympics for seven consecutive Games, dating back to 1996. In the total medal count, China finished in second with 88 medals, followed by the Russian Olympic Committee with 71 medals. ![]() Team USA's Skylar Diggins (L) puts a gold medal on teammate Sue Bird during the medal ceremony for the women's basketball competition of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on August 8. ![]()
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