FILE — Philippines’ Hidilyn Diaz competes during the women’s 53kg weightlifting event at the Rio 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro on August 7, 2016. (Photo by GOH Chai Hin / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz is making significant progress in her buildup for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Olympic silver medalist set a new personal mark while training in Malaysia.
“Hidilyn Diaz hit a lifetime Pr Jerk off the rack today with 130kg!” said Julius Naranjo, Diaz’s conditioning coach.
Naranjo posted Diaz’s impressive lift on social media recently.
“Jerk from the rack is an accessory that we have been working on implementing more in the training because we wanted to develop the confidence for her to be able to Jerk at heavier loads. She has one of the best Jerk technique in the game,” Naranjo wrote on Facebook.
⠀
“Even when an athlete is proficient at a lift, it’s always good to go back to the basics. Sometimes a small tweak in a certain area, can make a big change that will affect the athlete in the long run. In this case, a win for Hidilyn as we are making good progress as we inch our way to Tokyo 2021.”
The 30-year-old Diaz is among the nine Filipino bets already qualified for this year’s Olympics.
Joining Diaz in the Summer Games so far are gymnast Carlos Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, rower Cris Nievarez, taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa and boxers Eumir Marcia, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Irish Magno.