The Philippines used to have the uneviable reputation as the country having the most Olympic medals won without ever winning a gold.
Hidilyn Diaz herself has a silver medal from 2016 in Rio, as do two Philippine boxers who settled for second place.
Points Scoring System
Most observers believe that the Filipino boxers have traditionally not been given a fair enough treatment in terms of point scoring and presumably have been "robbed" a few times of the chance to win Olympic gold. But this is the risk of any sport using a judges based scoring system. It will always be inherently subjective and prone to human error.
Weightlifting
In other sports, like weightlifting, one do not have to score against an opponent. One just needs to be faster, higher, stronger than everyone else and do so within the rules of the game.
Hidilyn Diaz did this in a dramatic way, outlifting her closest opponent on the last lift and by one kilogram, establishing an Olympic record in the process.
Inadequate Funding
The Philippines is one of those less fortunate countries where individual athletes basically need to train and fend for themselves, especially in a pandemic.
Beating all the odds and the lack of comparable support and training which other countries enjoy, Hidilyn on her winning lift just lifted on her back and carried on her arms and shoulders the dreams of the entire Philippine nation, through her grit, passion and sheer determination -- truely a notable Filipina.
Another Filipina athlete, Arianne Cerdena technically won the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal, in the 1988 Seoul Olympic games. Bowling was a demonstration sport at that edition of the games and all the medals won in that sport at that time were not counted in the official medal tally.
Multiple Medals
Hidilyn joins fellow Filipino athlete, swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso as being the only Filipinos to win a medal in two Olympic games. Yldefonso won the bronze medal in the 1928 games in Amsterdam and repeated his podium finish in 1932 in Los Angeles.
Tokyo 2020 (2021)
Japan made it possible for dreamers like Hidilyn and other athletes from countries who have yet to win medals in the Olympics to achieve their dreams. They could have easily cancelled these games but they didn't.
Japan made it possible for dreamers like Hidilyn and other athletes from countries who have yet to win medals in the Olympics to achieve their dreams. They could have easily cancelled these games but they didn't.
In doing so, the glass ceiling has been broken for Philippine sports. Push onwards athletes, the best is still to come.
If one athlete can do this, imagine what the Philippines can achieve when they all support one another and support their country.
If one athlete can do this, imagine what the Philippines can achieve when they all support one another and support their country.
Flag and anthem. Salute and tears. (Hidilyn is a sergeant in the Philippine Air Force)
96 years in the making
Let's watch how Hidilyn lifted her nation on her back and shoulders.
Drama all the way
Bowling
Arianne Cerdena winning the Olympic gold medal in Seoul 1988