EVER since Hidilyn Diaz’s historic win in the weightlifting category of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, other Filipino contestants have also bagged their gold medals in the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships, like Vanessa Sarno and Rosegie Ramos. The Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP), the national governing body for weightlifting and powerlifting in the Philippines, focused their eyes on the World Weightlifting Championships (WWC) for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where nine athletes, including Diaz, will be competing in the championships scheduled from Dec. 5 to 16 in Bogota, Columbia. 

Road from Tokyo to the Paris Olympics

On July 26, 2021, Diaz became the first Filipino to win an Olympic gold medal for the Philippines during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by finishing first place in the women’s 55 kg category and lifting a combined weight of 224 kg. She also participated in the 2022 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Hanoi, Vietnam, where she won the gold medal for the women’s 55 kg weightlifting category by lifting 92 kg in the snatch and 114 in the clean and jerk, totaling 206 kg. Diaz later stated that the SEA Games was just the start of her quest for a third Olympic gold medal.

Prelude to the Olympics

The WWC will be the first qualification tournament for the incoming Paris Olympic Games that will occur in 2024. The SWP President, Monico Puentevella, remarked that they skipped the Asian Championships in order to concentrate on qualifying for the Paris Olympics. This championship could be considered as a “prelude” to the Olympics due to the possibility of meeting the best in the world, and improving their chances of qualifying for the championship. Puentevella also added that they were optimistic for a good showing due to them being led by Diaz and Sarno, both being gold medal recipients in their respective weightlifting championships during the SEA Games. 

Diaz will be entering the women’s 55 kg category which she won during the Tokyo Olympics, but will not be included in the Paris Olympics. Among the nine athletes, aside from Diaz, are Ramos and Lovely Inan (women's 49 kg), Elreen Ando (womens 59 kg), Sarno and Kristel Macrohon (womens 71 kg), Nestor Colonia (mens 55 kg), John Febuar Ceniza (mens 61 kg) and Dave Lloyd Pacaldo (mens 67 kg). In addition, 18-year-old Sarno was also a gold recipient for the women’s 71 kg division during the 2022 SEA Games and is considered to be the heir to Hidilyn Diaz, while 17-year-old Ramos made her debut in the 2022 SEA Games with a bronze medal in the women’s 49 kg event. 

With an impressive line-up of podium finishers and medal recipients at the ready, we can expect with optimism that this year’s qualifiers for the 2024 Olympics will be a sight to behold and a manner of showing one’s pride as a Filipino, and as an athlete.