Hidilyn Diaz clinches elusive World Champion title on her way to qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
What’s the next big achievement after clinching an Olympic gold? Probably another gold and adding the title “World Champ” in your name.
Our very own Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo just did that with not one, but three gold medals in the women’s 55kg division in the International Weightlifting Federation World Championships in Bogota, Colombia on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time) to fully cement her place as one of the greatest lifters of her time.
Hidilyn bagged the elusive World Championships title with a total lift of 207 kilograms, taking all three gold medals in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total, by clearing 93kg in the snatch for her first gold in the worlds, before tallying 114 kg for another gold in the clean and jerk, reported SPIN.ph.
Even after 114 kg in the clean and jerk, the Olympian attempted to clear 117 and 121 kg respectively but was unsuccessful for both and registered a no-lift in her attempts.
“It’s official! We’ve kicked off our Paris 2024 Journey with a decent start and ended our year with 3 Gold medals in the Snatch/CJ/Total, going 93/114/207. Not our best showing but a historical one being the First Filipina to win a World Championships,” said strength and conditioning coach and husband, Julius Naranjo, in a Facebook post.
Diaz-Naranjo bested Rosalba Morales of Colombia who took the silver medal and a bronze in snatch and silver in clean and jerk with a total lift of 199 kg while home bet Ana Gabriela Lopez of Mexico ended up getting third place with a total of 198 kg after a silver finish in snatch.
The 31-year-old had been chasing her gold ware in the world championships for seven years now starting in 2015 when she settled for the bronze in the women’s 53kg division, then another third place finish in 2017, and lastly a bronze medal yet again in 2019 but in the 55kg division, after withdrawing from the worlds in 2021 as reported by Inquirer.
The Bogota stint is a great way for Hidilyn to build her momentum as it is one of her six competitions to earn a qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics for a chance to claim another gold in what would be her fifth Olympics appearance.
Tags: #weightlifting, #Olympics, #worldchampion