Philippines’ Hidilyn Diaz to try her hand at cooking after missing Olympic cut
By Ryan General
Filipino weightlifting icon Hidilyn Diaz is planning to learn baking after failing to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Key points:
- Diaz placed 11th in the women’s 59-kilogram class at the International Weightlifting Federation World Cup.
- Diaz is setting aside weightlifting to prioritize family time and pursue interests outside the sport.
- She shared in a recent social media post that she plans to take cooking and baking courses, a long-held dream of hers.
- She said she will continue lifting to inspire young athletes and plans to be involved in the sport as a leader.
The details:
- The 33-year-old made history at the 2020 Tokyo Games, becoming the Philippines’ only-ever Olympic gold medalist.
- Held in Thailand earlier this month, the IWF World Cup saw Elreen Ando securing the sole Filipino spot in her weight class.
- “The Olympics and weightlifting are not my everything,” Diaz wrote on Facebook. “I sacrificed a lot of my time to train and sometimes I forget to enjoy the process because I am caught with the high expectations and high pressure of being an elite athlete. This moment is for me to learn new skills – join classes and workshops to learn to cook and bake.”
- Diaz was forced to move up to the 59kg category after her previous Olympic weight classes (53kg and 55kg) were removed.
- Diaz sees her role as continuing to motivate young athletes even while scaling down competition.
- She and her husband will run a fundraiser for grassroots weightlifting development through their training academy.
What’s next:
- Diaz is set to attend the Paris Olympics in August as a member of the IWF Athlete’s Commission.
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