Philippines’ Hidlyn Diaz celebrates her gold medal finish at the 55kg weightlifting at the 30th SEA Games 2019. INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon
MANILA, Philippines—Hidilyn Diaz claimed her first Southeast Asian Games gold medal, ruling the women’s 55-kilogram weightlifting event with ease in front of a roaring hometown crowd Monday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Diaz lifted the heaviest weight in snatch at 91 kilograms in her second attempt and registered 120 kgs in her third attempt in clean and jerk for a whopping total of 211 kgs.
Her closest competitor Thi Thuy Nguyen of Vietnam lifted 82 in snatch and 115 in clean and jerk for a total 197, good for silver.
Diaz, a silver medalist in the 2016 Rio Olympics, lifted 88 kgs in her first snatch attempt but couldn’t clear 94kgs in her third attempt.
“This is a huge deal for me because my parents are here, and the nation watched me and now they know how intense weightlifting is and hopefully they were able to appreciate the sport,” said Diaz.
Philippines’ Hidlyn Diaz competes in the women’s snatch 55kg weightlifting at the 30th SEA Games 2019. INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon
The SEA Games gold medal was a first for Diaz with the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia oddly leaving the women’s weightlifting competition from its calendar.
Diaz added that her next aim is to get to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and ultimately snatch that gold medal in the premier sporting competition in the world.
“This year has been so good to me and I’ve made large progress in terms of training and technique,” said Diaz who also owns a gold medal in the Asian Games. “We’re in the right track for Tokyo 2020.”
Indonesia’s Juliana Klarisa won the bronze medal lifting a total of 175 kgs, 80 in the snatch and 96 in the clean and jerk.
Elly Engelbert of Malaysia was at fourth place lifting 164 kgs, 72 in the snatch and 92 in the clean and jerk, while Laos’ Maiyia Vue was at fifth lifting a total of 138 kgs, 62 in the snatch and 75 in the clean and jerk.
