Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz took home three gold medals, dominating the women’s division at this year’s Weightlifting World Cup in Rome yesterday.
Diaz took the top spot after lifting 93 kilograms in the snatch and 119 kilograms in the clean and jerk, for a total of 212 kilograms, in the women’s 55-kilogram division, ABS-CBN News reports. Diaz also won a separate gold for lifting the heaviest weight in the entire competition.
The country’s top weightlifter edged out runner-up Kamila Konotop from Ukraine, who lifted a total of 196 kilograms. Meanwhile, Tunisia’s Nouha Landoulsi bagged the bronze by lifting 194 kilograms, Rappler reports.
Read: Golden Girl: Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz bags PH’s first gold at Asian Games
Diaz is slated to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which will run from July 24 to Aug. 9 in Tokyo. Prior to this week’s event, she dominated the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, bagging her first gold in the same 55-kilogram division of the regional meet.
In December, the 28-year-old weightlifter from Zamboanga posted on Instagram that she skipped coming home to her province for the holidays so she could train instead for the Weightlifting World Cup.
“As we get closer and closer to #tokyo2020 I can’t stop my training since we are 4 weeks out from competition. These are the sacrifices us athletes and coaches make to achieve the dream for our country and I am grateful for my coaches,” she said.
The Filipina weightlifter told ABS-CBN in Rome that she is now preparing for the Olympics, and that she “still has a lot to do for Tokyo 2020.”
Diaz affirmed her spot as one of the country’s top athletes when she became the first Filipina to bag a silver at 2016 Summer Olympics, ending the country’s 20-year Olympic medal drought.
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