Hidilyn Diaz Fears to Back Out from Paris Olympics 2024 Due to This Reason
Weightlifting gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz is in fear to back out from the Paris Olympics in 2024 due to the new rules of the game.
Hidilyn’s chances of winning a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris appear to be compromised following the International Weightlifting Federation’s decision (IWF). The IWF has lowered the weight classes for the Olympic weightlifting competition in 2024, according to a Daily Tribune report.
This includes Hidilyn’s victory in the 55-kilogram competition at the Tokyo Olympics 2021. The 55-kilogram event is no longer being held, according to Monico Puentevella, president of the Weightlifting Association of the Philippines.
He emphasized that if Hidilyn still wanted to compete, she would have to sign up for the heavier for the athlete 49kg or 59kg category. Some experts predict that Hidilyn won’t find it simple to move up in weight class, particularly given the short amount of time she has left to train.
“She has to decide after the World Championship in Colombia whether to go down to 49kg or go up to 59kg,” said Puentavella.
“It will surely be hard but it has to be decided by her and her husband in coach Julius,” he added.
The 49kg and 59kg events now have a stone throw for the Philippines, however Hidilyn is still debating whether she would compete in those weight classes. Hidilyn began her competition in the 58kg weight division, but unfortunately, she was not fortunate enough to take home a medal at that weight.
When it reduced to 53kg, he won the first-ever Olympic silver medal. Hidilyn switched to the 55kg division after the 53kg division was eliminated, where she earned a gold medal at the 2021 Olympics.
Hidilyn and Julius Naranjo, her husband and coach, have not yet made a choice regarding the impending 2024 Olympics. Diaz began her career participating in the 58kg division before lowering her weight to 53kg, which helped her win a historic silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Two years later, Gao Kaiwen, a Chinese mentor, joined the team to assist Diaz win her first gold medal at the Asian Games in the 53kg division. Diaz won a gold medal at the IWF World Championship in Rome and the Summer Games in Tokyo after the IWF discontinued the 53kg event in 2020. This was the first gold medal for the Philippines since they joined the Olympics in 1924.
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