Hidilyn Diaz nabs gold in online competition

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Filipina weightlifting sensation Hidilyn Diaz added another gold medal to her resume after dominating in the 2020 Eleiko Email International Lifters Tournament.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic still preventing Olympic qualifying tournaments from happening, some already diverted and explored the online platform of holding competitions.

Diaz recorded 95 in the snatch and 121 in the clean and jerk, racking up a total of 216 kilograms all in all to help her reign supreme in the women’s 59-kg division against 63 other countries.

The Tokyo Olympics hopeful is currently stranded in Kuala Lumpur due to the pandemic and decided to resume her training there with flights to the Philippines still limited.

Before the lockdown started, Diaz was ranked number four in the International Weightlifting Federation world rankings, one spot shy of making it into the Olympics.

Australia’s Fatima Yakabu was behind Diaz who lifted a total of 189-kg, followed by South Africa’s Johanni Taljaard with 188.

The International Lifters Tournament is organized by the Oceania Weightlifting Federation.