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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