Not since 1996, when “Onyok” Velasco won silver at the Atlanta Olympics, has a Filipino athlete won a medal at the Olympics. This changed today when Hidilyn Diaz won silver in the women’s 53kg weightlifting.
This marks the Philippines’ first medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics Games. Diaz claimed silver over Korean lifter Yoon Jin Hee by 1 point 200-199. The gold was snatched by Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Shu-Ching with a score of 212.
Diaz was the flag bearer for the Philippines at the London 2012 games and was a competitor in the last 2 summer Olympics.
By Julian Fortaleza
