Olympian Diaz Visits Cebu, Holds Talk with Local Athletes

The first Filipina Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz is set to arrive in Cebu Thursday for a series of meetings with local athletes that will culminate in a seminar on building Olympians on Sunday.

Diaz, the 25-year-old three-time Olympian, will be accompanied by Rio Games boxer Charley Suarez and Jay Fatulan, the strength and conditioning coach of the Philippine Sports Commission.

Her first stop Thursday will be at the Oakridge Pavillion in Mandaue City to promote her Process of Building Olympians seminar on Sunday.

She will also visit the weighlifting gym of the University of Cebu, one of a handful of schools in the country that maintains a weighlifting varsity, to talk with local lifters.

“Hidilyn will be at the UC gym at 5 or 6 p.m. on Sept. 3. All our athletes wil lbe there and they are hoping Diaz will share her techniques, said UC athletic director Bernard Ricablanca.

Diaz was only 17 when she qualified for the Olympics for the first time in Beijing and was competing in the 58-kilo division in the London edition.

In Rio, her third straight Olympiad, Diaz competed a won a silver medal in the 53-kilo division.

She said she had to follow a strict regimen in maintaining her strength when her coaches decided that she would be competing a division lower in Rio, a move that resulted to the country winning the first silver medal in the Olympics in 20 years.

She is also planning to stay with the national team in her hunt for the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics.

Meanwhile, local lifters are hoping Diaz’s feat in Rio will result to the sport getting more attention.

“I am hoping that in the next Olympics, we can duplicate or even win the gold medal. It (Diaz’s silver medal) is also good for Cebu because people here do not give any attention to a sport that is easy to identify a potentional champion athlete. I hope the silver medal can inspire officials and athletes to revive weightlifting in Cebu,” said UC coach Danilo Catingub.

Cebu used to host regular weightlifting events conducted by the Philippine Weightlifting Association at the now defunct Baseline PRT gym.

Cebu Weightlifting Association president Baldomero Estenzo said Diaz’s achievement is proof Filipinos are world class in the sport.

“It only means that our athletes are at par with others. This should encourage our athletes to take up the sport and seriously train for future competitions. With the new PSC’s commitment to help develop grassroots athletes, the future looks bright for discovering potential winners,” said Estenzo.

Catingub pins his hopes in Elreen Ann Ando, a Grade 9 student in UC who, even with just three years experience in the sport, already holds the Philippine junior record.

“We just need to let her compete in regional and continental championships to let her get used to international competitions,” said Catingub.

Meanwhile, organizers of Diaz’s seminar on Sunday hope to accommodate 700 people for the one-day talk.

Pio Solon, the organizer of Sunday’s event, also said the activity is aimed at getting athletes understand the process of reaching their goals. (PNA) FPV/EB/MP/EDS