She's gunning to become a five-time Olympian.
Weightlifting superstar Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo won the Philippines its first Olympic gold medal after winning the 55kg category in Tokyo two years ago. With that weight class scrapped, she must now compete in 59kg to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. On Sunday, at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju, South Korea, the 32-year-old Zamboanga City native officially began her quest for a fifth Olympic appearance.
Diaz-Naranjo finished fourth with a total of 221kg. While she didn’t make it to the podium, the Philippines’ lone Olympic gold medalist believes that her 59kg debut was a step in the right direction.
On Wednesday night, Hidilyn went on Instagram to share her thoughts on the first Paris Olympic qualifying event she took part in.
“First competition for a new weight category and a new beginning. Yes, I am happy with the result as it brings me closer to my ultimate goal of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics.”
Clearly, Diaz-Naranjo was pleased with her performance. It appears she was able to hit her target, considering the basis for Olympic qualification is total weight lifted, and not points won. Still, the 32-year-old pride of the Philippines acknowledged that a lot of work remains undone heading into the next Olympic qualifiers.
“There are 3 to 4 more Olympic Qualification events to qualify for Paris 2024, we are almost there, and we know that there's still a lot of room for improvement in our training and preparation,” Diaz-Naranjo wrote.
Getting her feet wet in the 59kg event, Diaz-Naranjo now knows what she needs to improve on, and what she’s up against. Seeing her with a higher total, and better finish in her next tournaments wouldn’t be surprising at all.