Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz Of Philippines Hailed For Historic Olympic Gold

With their eyes glued to a television in the southern Philippines, the family of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz yelled "push, push, push!" as she hoisted the bar to win the country's first Olympic gold medal.

"Then we erupted in joy -- we were shouting, some shed tears of joy," Emelita Diaz told AFP Tuesday, a day after watching her daughter's historic performance in Tokyo -- far from her hometown of Zamboanga. "We didn't know what to feel because we were extremely happy," she added.

After nearly 18 months training in exile in Malaysia because of Covid-19 restrictions, Diaz smashed her personal best and won gold with a final clean and jerk of 127kg in the women's 55kg class.