MANILA, Philippines—Hidilyn Diaz continued to build her strength on her road to the Tokyo Olympics, lifting a personal record in backs squats.
In a video posted on Instagram, the silver medalist in the 2016 Rio Olympics shared that she was able to lift a whopping 161 kilograms, calling it her “lifetime PR.”
“It has been 10 months since I have touched weights this heavy,” said Diaz on her caption. “This is a lifetime PR for me in the back squat at 161 kg.”
“I did not expect to be able to lift this [much] weight and you can tell in my face how heavy the weight feels for me. But I am happy I was able to lift weights and we are back getting on progress.”
Diaz is preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Filipino weightlifting star secured gold medal in the -55 kg division in the Southeast Asian Games when she lifted a total of 211 kg, then followed that up with three golds in the Weightlifting World Cup.
“Team HD has been a blessing during this pandemic, because they have kept me focused and allowed me to not lose sight of the Philippines’ dream of its first gold medal in the Olympics next summer,” said Diaz.