Diaz is hoping to overcome a new challenge in her bid for a ticket to Paris.
Hidilyn Diaz’s road to winning another gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics will not be a walk in the park.
After all, the 55-kilogram weight class, where she won the country’s first gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was scrapped for the upcoming games. Due to the decision, Diaz has since moved up to the 59-kg division.
But the transition was no easy feat, according to Diaz. Right now, she is taking small steps to make sure that she is ready to compete and excel in her new weight class.
She had to make adjustments, but now she's glad to see that the process is starting to smooth out.
“So far, naka-recover na [sa adjustments],” Diaz said on Thursday during the virtual press conference sponsored by Summit Water. “Pagdating sa 59, it takes really a lot of preparation, a lot of sacrifices, a lot of pain, challenges, pero ngayon, masasabi ko na nasa kalagitnaan na ako.”
“I was able to overcome the struggles, the challenges na hoping I will do my best for Paris 2024,” the weightlifting champion added.
While her sights are set on Paris, Diaz still has to qualify for the Olympics, which is why she is currently in Japan as she prepares for the qualifiers happening next month. The tourney is scheduled on May 3 to 13, and will take place in Jinju, South Korea.
To make time for this, Diaz is set to skip the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.