ONE can win races and break world records, but an Olympic medal is still the highest feat an athlete can accomplish. To conquer the Olympics is every athlete’s dream.
On Sunday night, Aug. 7, Hidilyn Diaz feasted on cheesy pizza and adobo as her celebratory dinner. Earlier in the day, the 25-year-old was atop a podium as she waves to the crowd, after winning the silver medal in the women’s 53-kg weightlifting event at the ongoing Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Back in her home country, her silver shines like gold as cheers linger on and praises pour in for the Zamboanga City native who made history as the first Filipina to bring home an Olympic medal. She will be heralded a hero’s welcome upon her return.
“Salamat. Saludo po ako sa inyo (Thank You. I salute you),” Pres. Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday, Aug. 8 as he congratulated Diaz for bringing the honor to the country.
“I am impressed, and I would like to wait for you, to receive you in the People’s Palace of Malacanang. As a president of this country, I am overjoyed,” Duterte said of her fellow Mindanaoan.
In the Senate, Sen. Sonny Angara filed Senate Resolution No. 88, where he described Diaz as “rare shining star.”
“Diaz’s silver-medal victory is momentous, being a veritable first in various respects in Philippine sports history. Hers is the first Philippine Olympic medal since Mansueto ‘Onyok’ Velasco won silver in the light flyweight boxing competition during the 1996 Summer Olympics in the United States,” the resolution read.
“The inspiring story of Diaz is the story of Filipinos,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement. “Hers is about overcoming shyness but for an inspired nation, her road to Rio is a journey of grit, patience and determination which ended a 20-year long medal drought for the Philippines.”
In these days marred by political disarray, natural calamity and other depressing news, people look for an inspiration to live through difficult days. A hero is an inspiration—an entity that invokes the beleaguered spirit. A hero is a source of strength that keeps his or her peers going. More than a cause for celebration, Diaz’s recent triumph has become a source of inspiration and hope.
Not all heroes die on the battlefield or are killed in the line of duty. Heroes come from all walks of life and in any profession. They are just ordinary men and women who inhabit extraordinary lives that make a change and inspire other people.
Diaz and the 12 other Filipino athletes in Rio are modern warriors who do more than represent the flag where they came from. Their presence in the elite sporting event gives their countrymen hope, self-respect, and to many people—pride in who they are.
In her own way, Diaz encourages those who want to follow her footsteps that if you persevere, you can claim victory and be a hero yourself.
Every journey will be brutal, hard-nosed and beautiful. This Olympic victory is a reminder that even though times are cloaked with uncertainty, life has some moments of great pride and joy. (AJPress)
