MANILA, Philippines—There will be a 15th Filipino athlete in the Beijing Olympics next month.

Sixteen-year-old weightlifter Heidilyn Diaz has gained a wild-card slot from the International Weightlifting Federation and will become the first Filipino lifter to compete in the Olympics.

Philippine Weightlifting Association president and Philippine Olympic Committee first vice president Monico Puentevella Thursday said they welcomed the wild-card privilege although he said the PWA was actually priming up the Zamboanga City lass for the 2012 London Games.

“She is just 16, and this Olympics will be a stepping stone for her when she competes in London which was what we really targeted,” Puentevella, who is also RP Olympic delegation chief of mission, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).

As expected, the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) beat the deadline for submission of entries Thursday by naming long jump artists Henry Dagmil and Marestella Torres as the mandatory bets allowed each country in the Olympics’ centerpiece event.

“We simply based our choices on the athletes who possess the closest record in their respective events in the Olympics,” said Patafa president Go Teng Kok.

Puentevella, the former Asian Weightlifting Association president, said Diaz is one of the shining spots in local weightlifting especially after she snagged a silver medal in the 58kg category during the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.

Diaz went through a year-long training in Guangzhou in preparation for the SEA Games in Thailand, according to Puentevella.

“Nobody expected us to produce an entry to the Olympics,” said Puentevella. “But this is a good sign for the sport which the Filipinos can excel and compete against the world’s best.”

Fresh from a two-month training in Los Angeles, California, Dagmil holds the SEA Games record of 7.87 meters which he registered in Thailand last year.

The 26-year-old Dagmil, a pride of South Cotabato, is currently ranked No. 49 in the world.