Hidilyn Diaz —FRANCIS T. J. OCHOA
The country’s Olympic heroes and top sports achievers will be feted on Monday night during the annual celebration of the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards Night at the Diamond ballroom of Diamond Hotel.
Olympic gold medal winner Hidilyn Diaz will be honored with the coveted Athlete of the Year award by the country’s oldest media organization in the special two-hour affair presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Cignal TV.
Program proper starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be hosted by veteran broadcaster Sev Sarmenta and former courtside reporter and now news anchor Rizza Diaz.
Diaz, the 31-year-old weightlifter from Zamboanga City, provided one of the greatest moments in Philippine sports history last year when she gifted this nation of 110 million people its first-ever gold in the Olympics by winning the women’s 55 kilogram class of the Tokyo Olympiad in record fashion.
This marks the third time in the last six years the local sportswriting community is recognizing Diaz with its highest individual award after first clinching it in 2016 (silver medal in Rio Olympics) and then two years later in 2018 (gold medal in Jakarta Asian Games).
Diaz leads a compact 39-man awardee, including medalists and participants in both the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.