MANILA, Philippines – The meetup couldn’t be any more historic and iconic.
With the Eiffel Tower as their backdrop, weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz and gymnastics ace Carlos Yulo — the Philippines’ only two Olympic gold medalists — found time to reconnect and celebrate before the Paris Games wrap up.
Diaz and Yulo, also two of only four Filipinos to win multiple medals in the Olympics, shared some light moments on Thursday, August 8.
“Salamat Caloy sa napakaganda at napakasayang pag-uusap!” Diaz posted on Instagram. “Basta proud ako sa iyo, at lagi kitang ipagdarasal.”
(Thank you Caloy for the wonderful and fun chat! I’m proud of you and I’m always praying for you.)
Aside from celebrating with Team Philippines, Diaz headed to Paris as an elected member of the International Weightlifting Federation’s Athletes’ Commission and Executive Board.
“I’m so proud of you. I know what you went through,” Diaz told Yulo in Filipino during an interview with Olympic broadcaster Cignal.
“I’m just here on the side. I’m so proud that you overcame all the challenges.”
Yulo recalled that back in Tokyo, Diaz showed him the precious Olympic gold, and it motivated him to win one himself.
“Right now, it’s all worth it — all the exhaustion and hard work,” Yulo said in Filipino. “Ate Hidilyn gave me so much inspiration and motivation. I always carried that.”
Yulo became the Philippines’ first Olympic double gold medalist after ruling the men’s floor exercise and vault in the Paris Games.
The feat also made the 24-year-old pride of Manila the first Filipino athlete to bag two medals in a single Olympic edition, the first Filipino male athlete to capture a gold, and the first Filipino gymnast to cop a medal in the world’s biggest sporting showcase.
In 2021, Diaz made history as the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist by topping the women’s 55kg division in the Tokyo Games.
The historic moment came five years after the Zamboanga City native also captured a silver in the 53kg division of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, where she became the Philippines’ first female Olympic medalist.
As the first Filipino weightlifter to earn a podium finish, Diaz also ended then the country’s 20-year medal drought in the Olympics. – Rappler.com