QUEEN FOR ALL TIME

Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, the Philippines’ unrivaled Olympics heroine, is not going to the Paris 2024 Games.

But shed no tear for the greatest Filipino weightlifter of all time, even as Father Time denied her a fifth straight appearance—which she doggedly chased in the last two years—in the Olympics.

“I love this sport, I don’t want to stop,” Diaz-Naranjo told the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). “But what I have to do now is take a good rest and think about the priorities in my life. Today wasn’t my day. Paris was not to be.”Her legacy will remain intact, and it will be up to heir apparent Elreen Ann Ando to carry the fight for Team Philippines in the 59-kilogram category.“We have to pay tribute to Hidi. She’s our only Olympic gold medalist and [she] inspired a lot of kids to pick up the sport of weightlifting,’’ said Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella after it was made official that Diaz-Naranjo wouldn’t be going to the world’s fashion capital after finishing 11th in the IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, on Wednesday.

Diaz-Naranjo ended the country’s wait for an Olympic gold—a drought that lasted nearly a century—when she ruled the 55-kg class of women’s weightlifting three years ago in Tokyo, using an equal mix of strength and smarts to corner Chinese world record holder Liao Qiuyun.

Instant icon

The win turned her into an instant icon of Philippine sports, hailed everywhere even as she was showered with bonuses and incentives that made her a millionaire many times over.

“I’ve given a lot to this sport and it’s given a lot to me,” she said.

More than that, she reinstalled a country’s confidence and inspired several athletes to go after sporting glory in the biggest global stages.

“They said this was impossible. I thought this was impossible. But the Filipino can do it. We just have to believe.” Diaz-Naranjo said after her Tokyo win.

But an encore in the French capital turned into a long shot at best when her weight category was abolished for the Paris Games, an offshoot of the ongoing war between the sport’s controversy-stricken international federation and the International Olympic Committee.

Diaz-Naranjo was forced to move to a heavier weight class where she crossed paths with Ando, who finished seventh in Tokyo in the women’s 64-kg class.

With her division also scuttled, Ando moved down in weight to join Diaz-Naranjo at 59 kg.

The 25-year-old Ando virtually assured herself of another Games appearance after finishing seventh in Thailand, with the top 10 lifters in each category progressing to Paris. Diaz-Naranjo finished 11th and even if she finished a notch higher, she still would have to forget Paris since the Games allow only one athlete from each country to compete.

Ando lifted a personal best of 228 kg in the total following a 100 in the snatch and 128 in the clean and jerk, giving her the inside track in meeting the qualifying standard in their weight class.

Opened doors

The 33-year-old Diaz-Naranjo, who likewise won a silver in the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Games, was ahead by a kilogram from Ando after the snatch, but couldn’t lift 127 in two attempts in the clean and jerk.Diaz-Naranjo had a total lift of 222 following a 99 in the snatch and 123 in the clean and jerk.

Diaz-Naranjo bowed out of contention and will likely head into retirement having opened the doors for hundreds of young lifters all over the country, including Rosegie Ramos, Vanessa Sarno and Ando, to name a few.

Ando will be in Paris along with early qualifiers EJ Obiena (pole vault), gymnasts Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan, boxers Nesthy Petecio, Eumir Marcial and Aira Villegas and fellow weightlifters John Febuar Ceniza and Ramos.The 20-year-old Sarno sees action in the women’s 71 kg on Sunday and if the former Asian champion could maintain her fifth overall ranking, she could join them in the French capital as well. INQ