PSA Athlete of the year Hiidlyn Diaz with PSA president Rey Lachica. –PSA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Hidilyn Diaz is not beating around the bush—she wants another Olympic gold medal and she wants to do it as soon as she can.
Diaz, who won the Philippine Sportswriters’ Association’s Athlete of the Year on Tuesday, made her 2024 intentions clear.
“It will be [the] Olympics again next year, I’ll do everything to bring home the gold medal (again),” said Diaz in Filipino during her acceptance speech at the awards night at Diamond Hotel in Manila.
But Diaz did not just set her sights on another gold. She also has her eyes set on another accolade from the PSA– an organization composed of the country’s sportswriters and editors.
“I hope that I’ll be able to return here next year for my fifth Athlete of the Year award. [I’m] manifesting for the Philippines.”
Diaz first captured the best yearly athlete plum back in 2016. In 2018, she co-won the honors with Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan, Lois Kaye Go and Margielyn Didal.
The first-ever Filipino Olympic gold medalist reclaimed the crown in 2021, making her the most recent athlete to receive the citation in back-to-back years.
Diaz also made sure to remind her fellow high-achieving Filipino athletes who were present at the annual event about their motives.
The weightlifter, who had a likewise successful 2022 a year after making history in Tokyo in the pandemic-delayed Olympics, told athletes to keep their vision clear and to do what they do for the motherland.
“To my fellow athletes, we are doing this for our love of our country and sports. We, Filipino athletes, continue to fight for our country,” Diaz said.
“I believe that many of you will follow in my footsteps and win gold in the Olympics.”
Diaz is on pace to reach Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno and Manny Pacquiao with the most PSA Athlete of the Year award with five. A gold in next year’s Olympics in Paris might just get her there.