God helped Hidilyn Diaz pull off record-setting golden Olympic lift
…When Diaz thrusted the 127kg barbell for that final jerk, her arms stood up and her left leg was at its lowest split. Her arms slightly shook. For three seconds, that heavy barbell was still. On that third second, her face started crying. Bang! That barbell fell. Diaz clasped her hands into her mouth, crying heavily.
God lifted Diaz’s arms. God helped steady Diaz’s left leg split on that final clean and jerk attempt. That was the bomb from Southeast Asia that dropped in Tokyo: A monumental upset of an Olympic gold medal victory for the Republic of the Philippines!
Diaz had to heave an Olympic record of a clean and jerk attempt to upset favorite and world record holder Liao Qiuyun of China, 224 to 223kgs, in the women’s 55kg class. Sporting a black face mask, Diaz couldn’t stop crying until the final note of Lupang Hinirang — her arms in salute to the Philippine flag (for being a sergeant of the Philippine Air Force). She has been shaking her arms —the arms that made the golden lift— prior to being called “Olympic gold medalist.” She has fulfilled the dreams of generations of Filipino Olympians and sports fans. She has proven the naysayers wrong.
Triumph of the human spirit
Diaz’s feat was basically a triumph of the human spirit, with practically Liao’s world record lifts intimidating all competitors. (The Filipina hasn’t even won a world championships gold medal.) But Diaz and her strength and conditioning coach Julius Naranjo told the press Hidilyn “will put on a show” by making lifts that the world “has never seen her do.”
Diaz’s momentum began in the snatch. She tied her personal best of 94kg on her first attempt, then she overturned that with a 97kg lift on her second.
Liao surprisingly started the snatch at 92kg, then hoisted her heaviest at 97kg on the third and final attempt. But Uzbekistan’s Nabieva Muattar led after the snatch with a 98kg lift, putting Diaz second and Qiuyun third.
Olympic nerves
In a battle of nerves, each and every lift in the clean and jerk turned out to be a back-and-forth affair.
Liao started off with a relatively easy 118kg jerk to grab the lead with a running 215kg total. But Diaz hoisted 119kg to jump to the leaderboard at 216 and begin the pressure on Liao. The Chinese added 5kgs on her next lift and nailed it for a running Olympic record in this new category for the Olympic sport. But Diaz responded by erasing that 123kg lift with a 124kg second lift (modifying the barbell in what was supposedly a 125kg lift). That second jerk actually saw Diaz move her left and then right foot forward, just to ensure that her 124kg attempt is good in the eyes of the judges. She howled out loud four times after that lift. Diaz started crying, then she embraced her coach. But there’s one more lift, and it’s a slim 221-220 lead for the Philippines. Diaz is now in unfamiliar territory: an over-220kg total. Liao heaved her heaviest clean and jerk — 128kg — at the 2019 Asian Championships. But on her final attempt in Tokyo, the Chinese world record holder hoisted 126kg to end with a 223kg total.
Then all eyes were on that momentous final lift of the competition: Diaz’s. What a dramatic way to win the nation’s first Olympic gold medal!
97-year Philippine gold drought ends
Diaz’s gold has slayed the ghosts spooking at the Philippines’ 97-year quest for its first Olympic gold medal. A gentleman, sprinter David Nepomuceno, was the first Filipino Olympian (1924 Paris Games). A woman, Hidilyn Diaz, made Philippine Olympic history. Diaz’s silver in Rio (in the old 53kg class), as well as the boxing silver medals of the late Anthony Villanueva (1964 Tokyo Games, featherweight) and of Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco (1996 Atlanta Olympics, light-flyweight) were the country’s highest Olympic feats prior to July 26, 2021….
Her ‘Reason’ for that golden lift
On her fourth and final Olympic Games, this oldest competitor in the 55kg class went out in style, will become at least ₱30 million richer, and has made her Philippine homeland cry heavily with joy. The new Philippine Olympic champion couldn’t stop thanking the Good Lord. “Thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord,” Diaz said after the historic lift. At the medals ceremony, her index finger pointed to the heavens. She wore a silver necklace bearing the face of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Diaz’s Sign of the Cross, to end her moment at the medals podium, helped seal the deal. That religious moment was the new Olympic champion’s tribute to the ‘Reason’ why Diaz’s arms went straight up on that golden, final lift.
And to cap it all, Diaz screamed: “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!” (“Hail to the Philippines!”)
Jeremaiah M. Opiniano
(Philstar.com) – July 27, 2021 – 9:41am
