No fifth consecutive Olympics appearance for weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, as Elreen Ando beats the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist for a spot in Paris 2024.
"Today wasn’t my day, Paris was not to be."
The Philippines' first-ever Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz says she would have to reassess her plans after the road to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 was closed on Wednesday night.
"I love this sport, I don’t want to stop. But what I have to do now is take a good rest and think about the priorities in my life," Diaz told the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).
The 25-year-old Elreen Ando snatched her chance during the clean & jerk portion of the women's 59kg event in the 2024 IWF World Cup in Thailand.
After Diaz first cleared 123kg, Ando seized the lead for the Olympic berth by lifting 125kg in her second attempt.
Diaz tried to get it back by increasing her second attempt from 126kg to 127kg, but she was unable to clear it.
She tried again with 30 seconds left, but could not lift the bar.
Ando proved her success was no fluke by clearing 128kg for her final lift.
[ALSO READ: 2024 Olympics watch: Elreen Ando beats Hidilyn Diaz for Paris berth]
"Congratulations, Ando. Well deserved," Diaz posted on her Instagram story.
The Zamboanga native had quite a journey in the Olympics.
She made her debut in Beijing 2008 at the 58kg category. She lifted a snatch of 85kg, and a clean & jerk of 107kg for a total of 192kg. Diaz finished 10th of 11 competitors.
She fared worse in London 2012 in the same category. Diaz had a better snatch at 97kg, but was unable to lift 118kg during the clean & jerk.
Diaz found her redemption in Rio 2016, dropping down to 53kg. She had a modest snatch of 88kg, but managed to secure the Philippines' first-ever Olympic silver medal in weightlifting by lifting 112kg in clean & jerk. Her total of 200kg was just one kilo greater than bronze medalist Yoon Jin-hee of South Korea.
The circle was complete in Tokyo 2020, when Diaz made history with the Philippines' first-ever Olympic gold medal.
She moved up to the 55kg and tied China's Liao Qiuyun with a 97kg snatch. With a few mind games from Diaz's Chinese coach, Liao registered 126kg on her last clean & jerk. The Filipina then successfully cleared 127kg in her third attempt to set the Olympic record.
Diaz wanted one more and declared her bid for Paris 2024. She even postponed her honeymoon with her coach and husband Julius Naranjo.
It was a far greater challenge though, as the Paris field was drastically cut down. There would be no 55kg category.
Instead, Diaz had to move up to the 59kg. She ended up competing against fellow countrywoman Elreen Ando--who was forced to move down after her 64kg division in Tokyo was also removed in Paris.
Now that the road to Paris has closed, Diaz would be rethinking her plans for the future. But at least now, she would have time for her honeymoon.
"But overall I’m happy. I’ve given a lot to this sport and it’s given a lot to me," she said.