After a very public defeat, multiple setbacks and a serious injury, she has made history by becoming the first-ever Filipina to win an Olympic Medal in Rio 2016
The Zamboanga-born Olympian and airwoman began her journey as an athlete at 11 years old. Inspired by seeing her male cousins exercising, she started using ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala) sticks and then cement weights and jeepney mag wheels before finally graduating to proper weightlifting barbells and plates. In 2008, when Diaz was 17, she became the first female weightlifter to represent the Philippines at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
She went on to represent the country again in London 2012, but it was here that Diaz experienced the most disappoint- ing moment of her career. Three failed attempts in her ‘clean and jerk’ resulted in a devastating “Did Not Finish” leaving her to question her athletic career. After considerable hard work and perseverance, Diaz made an outstanding and historic comeback at the Rio 2016 Olympics where she won a silver medal in the Women’s 53kg Weightlifting category. This was the first Summer Olympic medal for the Philippines in 20 years and this proud Mindanaoan is also the first Filipino woman ever to win an Olympic medal. Since then, the athlete has been training tirelessly, resulting in gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games, the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and the Roma 2020 Weightlifting World Cup. Diaz was feeling confident about bringing home the Olympic gold this year in Tokyo, however, the global pandemic has dashed these hopes until at least 2021. Despite being stranded for a number of weeks while training in Malaysia, she channelled her Olympian spirit into fundraising for underprivileged families affected by the lockdown in her Philippines hometown and other parts of the nation.
Describe to us the moment you realised that you hit rock bottom and how did you feel.
There are many moments when I felt I hit rock bottom, but definitely right after 2012 was truly difficult for me. My failure was so public. I was trolled online and bashed in the media, and although it was hard for me, it was more for my family. I was able to ignore it because I knew who I am—but it was painful because they were targeting my father. I didn’t feel shame; I was just hurt because I love my country and would do everything for it. I did question if I deserved that kind of treatment but I continued to love and serve the Philippines. However, before Rio 2016, just when I thought things were getting better, I suffered a major injury. At that point, I thought that there was no way I could win in the Olympics or even go back to weightlifting. I felt like I was a loser, a failure, that I was empty and with no purpose or direction in my life.
Did this steal your resolve for redemption or were you resigned to your fate?
I believe that all the trials and challenges that God gives us are meant to make us stronger and to lead us to a better path in life. There are things that we can’t control. We just have to accept them and do our best to survive and surpass the difficulties. I think it’s natural to have doubts in yourself and in your dreams. There were many times I wanted to give up but I would always ask the question, “Why am I doing this?”