Diaz, Hidilyn (1991-…), is a Philippine Air Force officer and weightlifter . At the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo , she became the first Filipino ever to win an Olympic gold medal. She won in the 55-kilogram (121-pound) weightlifting category. The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hidilyn Francisco Diaz was born on Feb. 20, 1991, in Zamboanga , in the southern Philippines. She was the second youngest of six siblings. She began weightlifting with her brothers and cousins when she was 11 years old. The family fashioned weights out of concrete before receiving donated barbells. As a 17-year-old, Diaz was recruited to compete for the national team at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Diaz joined the Philippine Air Force in 2013.
Diaz won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after coming back from an injury. At the 2020 Olympics, she lifted 97 kilograms (214 pounds) in the snatch and 127 kilograms (280 pounds) in the clean and jerk event. Her combined score of 224 kilograms (494 pounds) broke the Olympic record at that time.
