With the road to Paris 2024 closed, Hidilyn Diaz turns her attention to building a family with husband Julius Naranjo. The pair had postponed their honeymoon to focus on qualifying for the Olympics.
After falling short of a 2024 Paris Olympics berth, the Philippines' first-ever Olympic gold medalist weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz is now shifting focus on her personal priorities, with building a family at the top of the list.
The weightlifter on Wednesday shared photos of some much-deserved rest and relaxation in Thailand, after fellow Filipina Elreen Ando got the Olympic berth in the women's 59kg weight division.
“NOW, FOR THE MUCH NEEDED FAMILY TIME… Du’n tayo sa FOREVER. God and Family are Forever!!! Ninong @iamnoelferrer, countdown na po to your apo!!! #ForeverGrateful,” Diaz wrote in her post.
Back in June 2022, Hidilyn and her coach, Julius Naranjo tied the knot.
The couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary last July 26 of the last year with a sweet and lengthy Instagram post.
“Even before you became my husband, I felt blessed to have you as my coach that strengthened me, pushed my limits, strategized every competition and always initiated the team to talk our goals and ambitions,” Diaz wrote.
They decided to pause their honeymoon plans as Diaz aimed for a fifth straight Olympic appearance.
It was not meant to be though.
At the IWF World Cup 2024 in Phuket, Elreen Ando outlifted Diaz by six kilograms to get the Olympic berth.
Ando lifted a total 228 kilograms and finished 7th overall compared to Diaz's 222kg and 11th-placed outing.
Under the Olympic qualification procedure, only one athlete per country is eligible per weight class. In Tokyo, Diaz won her Olympic gold medal in the 55kg division. Ando at the time finished seventh in the 64kg category.
However, both weight classes were scrapped for the Paris Summer Games, forcing Diaz and Ando to compete in the 59kg category.
[ALSO READ: GUTS AND GLORY | Bittersweet moment as Hidilyn Diaz passes torch to Elreen Ando for Paris Olympics berth]
The Zamboanga native had quite a remarkable ride in her four straight Olympic stints, from finishing 11th in her first try in Beijing 2008 to claiming silver and gold medals in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo editions.
Her Paris dreams might have ended, but Diaz's legacy in Philippine sports remains untainted.
[ALSO READ: 'Paris was not to be': Hidilyn Diaz reflects on weightlifting journey after losing Olympics berth]