Hidilyn Diaz joins online lifting tilt amid Olympics cancellation

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics may have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that did not stop weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz--the first Filipino woman to win an Olympic medal--from joining another competition in which she aims to raise the bar once again.

That competition, which was held online, is the 2020 Eleiko Email International Lifters Tournament set up by weightlifting equipment manufacturer Eleiko in partnership with the Oceania Weightlifting Federation (OWF). It was held last July 24 to 25, coinciding with the original Tokyo 2020 Olympics opening dates.

Diaz would have competed in another Olympic some four years after she won a silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She'll now wait for the larger international arena till next year.

Diaz announced her participation in the Tournament through a post on her official Facebook page: "I was supposed to compete today (July 27) in #Tokyo2020, I already imagined the crowd would be full of Filipinos cheering for my win in Olympics...," she wrote, and added that because of the unfortunate fate of the games, "that imagination got blurred."

The Tournament invited weightlifters around the world to join via email.

Her post added: "It was a good thing Oceania Weightlifting (Federation) and @eleikosport organized an email competition...I don’t know the results yet but I'm grateful that I competed in this event. I was able to prepare and set my mind to it."

Diaz carried the Philippine flag in virtual form when she submitted her entry for the Lifters Tournament (as required) to the OWF website (oceaniaweightlifting.com). The entry is her recorded results for her snatch and clean & jerk weightlifting maneuvers.

The Tournament had covered all weight categories for the mentioned maneuver, and will also publish the full results in the website on July 31.

Paul Coffa, general secretary of the OWF, explained the idea behind the competition in an online report: “My idea to run this email tournament was to 'keep the dream alive' for those lifters who unfortunately cannot train in centres and are focusing on the Olympic Games."

Diaz, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to the Philippine Sports Commission for the support and to some people who helped her prepare.

"I want to thank my support system...thank you for pushing me to my limit and insisting to fight even though the battle will be longer. I know you all sacrificed a lot, thank you for being there," she wrote, and tagging coaches Kaiwen Gao, Julius Naranjo, Jeaneth Aro and Dr. KK Trinidad.

With her determination and support, nothing will truly stop Diaz from succeeding.

Photo is from Rappler