Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz made history Monday, winning the Philippines’ first gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The country had been trying to reach the podium’s top spot for nearly 100 years: It sent its first Olympic delegation to Paris for the 1924 Games.
Diaz won gold in the 55-kilogram category of women’s weightlifting — and in the process, she also set an Olympic record with her combined weight total of 224 kilograms across two successful lifts.
After her historic win, a tearful Diaz celebrated with her coaches before taking the top spot on the podium in Tokyo. Standing where no Filipino had stood before, Diaz, who serves in the Philippine air force, snapped off a salute and sang along to her country’s national anthem.
“I sacrificed a lot. I wasn’t able to be with my mother and father for how many months and years and then of course, training was excruciating,” Diaz said afterward, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “But God had a plan.”
The gold medal contest came down to Diaz’s last lift, thanks to a tight battle with China’s Liao Qiuyun, the world record-holder in the event.
Both Diaz and Liao lifted 97 kilograms (about 214 pounds) in their first-round snatch lift. For the following clean and jerk, Liao lifted 126 kilograms (nearly 278 pounds). Diaz responded by lifting 127 kilograms — another Olympic record — which finally broke the Philippines’ gold drought. Liao settled for silver, and Zulfiya Chinshanlo of Kazakhstan won bronze.
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