Hidilyn Diaz's Final Chase for Olympic Glory: The Preparation Continues

"It's difficult," that's how Hidilyn Diaz described her ongoing preparations for her fourth and final stint in the Olympics as she is one of the Filipino athletes who is looking to break the country's dry spell for an Olympic gold medal. On Tuesday, "Tungo sa Ginto" provided a front-row seat as Diaz shared her journey towards the Olympic gold.

Before the Tokyo Olympics was moved to July 2021, the 29-year old native of Zamboanga was supposed to compete in the Asian Championship. Then, the lockdowns happened worldwide due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Diaz was stuck in Malaysia with her team. Diaz even shared, "We didn't know what would happen. We just trained at the condo. We used bottles of water then we put water into the bags of the MVP Sports Foundation. We really became creative,"

Diaz also admitted that being away from her family during the lockdowns was an added stress to her. "I'll admit it. I'm affected. I worry for my family there in the Philippines then there was a storm and the pandemic. At that time, when I thought of giving up, it won't be good for them because they needed the inspiration. They need someone to look forward to so if one Hidilyn Diaz will give up, it's not good during the pandemic," Perhaps, what makes Diaz's preparation for her fourth stint as an Olympian is the fact that the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics meant additional 12 more months worth of work for the 2021 Olympics.  She then revealed what keeps her going. "I always say that I'm nearly there (Olympics). Not everybody can reach the Olympics and I'm grateful this is my fourth time with a chance to win a medal. So why I would give up? For me, you're already there then you'll give up. For me, it's natural (to say) that I don't want to continue, that I'm getting tired because it's really difficult," 

In the end, Diaz revealed why she is still lifting the weights for the Philippines. "I want to see more improvements in weightlifting in the Philippines that's why I'm still here fighting. I believe that weightlifting is one of the sports that bring home medals,"

Screenshot is from the MVP Sports Foundation Facebook page