New Olympic Champion Hidilyn Diaz Reminds Us All of an Essential Message on the Road to Success

Hard work, resilience, and patience are qualities that always make a difference.

Image: AFP

Unless you live in a cave cut off from all sources of communication with the outside world, you know that the Summer Olympics are currently taking place in Tokyo, Japan.

It is a great mass of sport that takes place every four years and which was postponed in 2020 because of the pandemic of COVID-19.

Because of the resurgence of the pandemic in Japan for several weeks, this edition was almost completely canceled. Fortunately, the Olympic Games could be maintained. Special measures had to be taken with a total absence of spectators on the different sites where the events take place, but the essential is preserved.

The Olympic Games go beyond the simple framework of sport

If you are not a sports fan, you may think that it did not matter whether these Olympic Games finally took place or not.

In reality, it would have been dramatic for thousands of athletes who have been preparing for several years just for this. A majority of these athletes practice sports that never have access to the media spotlight. The Olympic Games are a unique chance for them to change their lives forever by winning an Olympic medal.

Or better yet, the Holy Grail of all athletes: the title of Olympic champion.

Sport has always fascinated me, I must admit. So every four years I watch the Olympic Games with great attention. Even more than the sports performances in themselves, it is the athletes and their singular stories that interest me.

I am also particularly sensitive to the emotions that all these athletes convey.

To see an athlete explode with joy after having sacrificed everything for years to reach that ultimate Grail is something beautiful. Likewise, to see an athlete fail and not be able to perform where he or she was expected to on D-Day is also emotionally powerful.

The athlete's distress and extreme loneliness in the face of his or her destiny come through.

The Olympic Games are an incredible source of inspiration

For a writer, this is very inspiring. For anyone who wants to achieve great things in life, it is also something to watch closely.

On July 26, 2021, I came across a weightlifting competition that would have been of little interest to me if not for the particular story of a Filipina who was participating. This is Hidilyn Diaz who is just 30 years old.

What caught my attention was that she was participating in her fourth Olympic Games here and that she managed to win the first gold medal in the history of the Philippines. So I decided to go and study her story in a little more detail.

I was able to discover that Hidilyn Diaz started weightlifting at the age of 11 thanks to her cousin Allen Jayfrus Diaz. He taught her the basics of the sport, and Hidilyn quickly became passionate about it. At that time, she did not have the ambition to become an Olympic champion one day.

To participate in the Olympic Games would have been a great victory in itself.

The story of Hidilyn Diaz is the very example of what makes me love the Olympics so much

It was done for her 17 years old in 2008 when she was granted a wild card. She didn't have the necessary level to qualify yet, but this wild card would really change her whole life. In Beijing, Hidilyn Diaz finished second to last in her -58kg weightlifting competition.

For the anecdote, Diaz lifted 85kg in the snatch and 107kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 192kg.

First Filipino to participate in the Olympic Games in weightlifting, Diaz redoubled her efforts to progress. With her determination, many began to imagine that she could hope one day for a place on the Olympic podium.

However, there was still a long way to go.

Hidilyn Diaz experienced failure before winning a silver medal in Rio in 2016

In 2012, Hidilyn Diaz qualified directly for the Olympic Games in London. She was even chosen to be the flag bearer for her country. After lifting 97kg in the snatch, Hidilyn failed three times to lift 118kg in the clean and jerk. She was one of two competitors to finish with a humiliating "Did Not Finish", better known as DNF.

Many would have given up and been satisfied with the path already taken.

This failure strengthened Diaz's resolve more than ever. Learning from her mistakes, she decided to change her weight class to -53kg. A change that would later make all the difference. In 2016, Diaz arrives in Rio at the Olympics with strong performances from the Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championships a few months earlier.

She is clearly a candidate for the Olympic podium.

After a well-controlled competition, Diaz finally gets a medal for her third Olympic Games. During the competition, she beat her personal bests and outdid herself. That's all you want from an Olympic athlete in my eyes.

To be able to use the pressure of this global event to maximize her performance and give her best on the day.

Welcomed as a national hero in the Philippines, Hidilyn Diaz is not done with her Olympic dream

Olympic runner-up Hidilyn Diaz left Rio for her hometown of Zamboanga City in the Philippines where she was welcomed as a national hero. Once again, Diaz is not satisfied. She now wants to become an Olympic champion, the first in her country.

She gets back to work and continues to train more and more every day. After two bronze medals at the world championships in 2017 and 2019 respectively, Diaz won the gold medal in the 55kg category at the World Cup in Rome, Italy.

All observers are therefore making her one of the favorites for the Olympic title in Tokyo.

As always, being one of the favorites does not guarantee you an Olympic medal. There is always a world of difference between having the potential to win and winning. This is even more true at the Olympic Games where the competition is increased. Everyone dreams of nothing else for four years and gives everything on that day.

People who become Olympic champions never become so by chance.

The consecration takes place in Tokyo for Diaz who gives us an incredible lesson on what it takes to achieve great success

And it is July 26, 2021, Hidilyn Diaz became Olympic champion by showing off all her class to the world. To reach this summit, Diaz did things right as she broke two Olympic records with her 127kg in the clean and jerk and a total of 224kg in her contest.

Hidilyn Diaz became the first Filipino Olympic champion in history.

Her accomplishment is a reminder of several important lessons. In life, nothing is ever easy. To achieve great things, you must be willing to take the setbacks in stride. More than that, you must learn from each failure and keep moving forward with the will to do better the next time.

Resilience is the key in Hidilyn Diaz's journey.

Finally, the last point highlighted by her great Olympic success is patience. Diaz had to compete in four Olympics before she got to the Holy Grail. Arriving as an unknown in 2008, she is now on the roof of the world thirteen years later.

That's why I love the Olympics so much and why everyone should be interested. The stories that come out of them are an incredible source of inspiration for anyone who wants to achieve great things in life.

Once again, congratulations to Hidilyn Diaz!