TOKYO Olympics’ gold medallist Hidilyn Diaz got busy organizing the inaugural staging of the weightlifting competitions of the 2025 Palarong Pambansa in Laoag Ilocos, Norte last week.
The new role has taken much of her time, as 80 athletes and nine regions showed interest in her Olympic sport, with lots of new faces grabbing podium finishes.
Now that she’s done with the Palaro, Diaz is getting ready for her other weightlifting challenges–the qualifying meets for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics next year.
“The Olympic qualifiers? This will be my priority next year,” said Diaz on Thursday evening after she was named one of the nine key figures unveiled on Thursday as the new ambassadors of “Jollibee Bida Best”, extraordinary individuals from sports, gaming, beauty, science, and the arts, who embody what it means to be proudly Filipino on the global stage.
Among the athletes included in the Jollibee roster were Paris Olympics’ double gold medallist Carlos Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena and the Sibol men’s and women’s national team.
Yulo and Obiena are competing in international meets and were not around during festivities held at Whitespace Manila in Makati City.
“Hindi pa ako masyadong prepared sa mga competitions ko. I’m still 80 percent,” added Diaz.
Next week, Diaz said she will be in the National Open in Dumaguete, where she will once again fight for honors with fellow Olympian Elreen Ando in the 59-kg. category.
Coming next after her Dumaguete sortie will be the 2025 World Weightlifting Championships, to be held in Førde, Norway, from October 2 to 11.
The Southeast Asian Games in Thailand is also in the pipeline for Diaz.
Also honored as “Bida Best” ambassadors were astrophysicist Reina Reyes, 2025 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, toy designer Quiccs Maiquez, and the UPeepz, who are the World Hip Hop champions.
Members of team NaVi Philippines were present to represent the Sibol’s women’s team, while members of RRQ Kaito made up the men’s team.
Three RRQ Kaito members, Denniel “XNova” Gomez, Gabriel “Denjiro” Guinto, and Carl “Minguin” Gallantes, represented Sibol.
