SHORTLY after her Olympic golden moment, Hidilyn Diaz said that she entertained thoughts of quitting due to the sacrifices and immense pressure she faced as she carried the load of expectations of over 100 million Filipinos on her shoulders.
“There were times na gusto ko nangsumukosadami ng pagsuboknapinagdaanan ko. Sa totoo lang ng manalo (ng silver) sa (Rio Olympics), mahirap mag-sustain. Nagkaroon pa ng ‘matrix,’ di ba?” she recalled. “Pine-prepare akoni God to be strong today.”
The “matrix” that Diaz, a sergeant in the Philippine Air Force, referred to was the chart that linked her to the reputed move to oust President Duterte in office in 2019 that reportedly came from “highly reliable” intelligence resources.
That, in effect, branded Diaz as a leftist, or a red. But she eventually shrugged it off.
Her longtime mentor, Elbert Atilano, a former national coach and professor in Zamboanga, yesterday weighed in on Diaz’s win, saying she wound up on top of the world last Monday night, delivering the Philippines its first Olympic gold medal, because she kept her “Focus.”
In dramatic fashion, Diaz snatched the women’s 55kg mint from the grasp of Chinese favorite Liao Qiuyun, the world and two-time Asian champion, with a new Olympic standard of 127 kilos in the clean-and-jerk on her third and final try at the Tokyo International Forum.
Including her 97 kilos in the snatch, Diaz totaled 224 kilos, also an Olympic mark, nipping Qiuyun, who had lifts of 97 and 126, respectively, by a kilo in ending the country’s 97-year dry spell since its inaugural participation in the Olympics in 1924.
She also surpassed her own achievement of bagging a silver medal in the 53kg class in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, snapping a 20-year barren run for the country since boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco captured the silver in the light flyweight division of the 1996 Atlanta Games.
“Thank you for all the prayers. Grabesi God! Hindi ako makapaniwala na nakuha ko.
Nasorpresa ako na nagawa ko yon!”Diaz exclaimed in a post-match television interview shortly after receiving her gold medal. “Kakaibasi God. Sa lahat ng prayer warriors ko sa Pilipinas thank you so much.
“Thank you so much for believing in me. “
While she had her game face on during her thrilling duel with the Chinese, Diaz also revealed that she went into the meet with a tinge of doubt and anxiety.
“Sa totoo lang po, kinabahanako. Baka hindi ko magawa. Pero the whole day, the whole week (before the event) sinasabi ko sasarili ko I believe,” Diaz said. “Actually, hindi ko alamna Olympic record ang ginawa ko. Hindi din ako makapaniwala na nandoon‘ yong pangalan ko sa Olympic record.”
Atilano, now a Zamboanga city councilor, said he talked to his protégé early last Monday before she swung into action, reminding her of the acrostic “Focus” that he had drilled into the athlete while she was still under his wings.
“We talked to Hidy around 9 a.m. (10 a.m. in Tokyo) and talked about her FOCUS. Focus means F for faith or self-believe, O for obedience, C for Christ, who should be the center of everything we do, U for Unity and O for obedience and S for service,” he elaborated. “She would be doing the country and herself a great service if she obeyed her coach.
“We also reminded her to keep her feet on the ground.”
“This was why she relaxed and just followed the instructions of her coach (Gao Kaiwen).
The moves about the different weights, that was the coach’s call, which Hidy followed to the letter,” Atilano said. “Now, the Philippines and Diaz have the first Olympic gold, all because she kept her Focus.”
