Hidilyn Diaz lifts her way to a golden hat trick in World Weightlifting Championships

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold medalist, Hidilyn Diaz, continues to make history after bagging three gold medals in the World Weightlifting Championships last December 8, 2022, held in Bogota, Colombia.

That one title that seemed so elusive to Diaz finally ended up in her hands after another stunning set of performances in the women’s 55-kg division.

The Filipina weightlifting superstar bagged her first gold medal after reigning supreme in the snatch category.

Diaz registered a final score tally of 93 kg in the snatch, topping all the participating countries including home bet Rosalba Morales of Colombia.

After a stunning gold in the snatch, Diaz wasn’t done doing her magic and scored 114 kg in the clean and jerk category for her second gold of the World Championships.

Aside from defeating home bet Morales, Diaz also outdueled another weightlifting superstar in Ana Gabriela Lopez of Mexico.

With the two gold medals in the snatch and the clean and jerk, Diaz was also crowned with her third gold medal as the overall champion of the tournament.

This was one of the sweetest victories Diaz had in her entire professional weightlifting career after failing to win the gold during the last three editions of the World Championships.

Diaz first attempted to bring glory to the country during the 2015 Worlds but only took home the bronze medal, the same fate she had in 2017 and 2021.

The 31-year-old weightlifting sensation now has a gold medal in the World Championships, the Olympics, Asian Games, and the Southeast Asian Games.