Table of Biography
Hidilyn Diaz is a famous weightlifter and airwoman who is the first one to earn an Olympic gold medal from the Philippines. Hidilyn Diaz has even made an Olympic weightlifting record after winning at the Summer Olympics of 2020 for the women’s 55 kg category for weightlifting.
Early Life
The Filipina artist was born with the name Hidilyn Francisco Diaz on 20 February 1991. Her birthplace is Zamboanga City, Philippines. Likewise, her current age of 33 years old, and her zodiac sign is Pisces.
She is the 5th kid of her parents, Eduardo and Emelita Diaz. She previously was a 3-wheeler driver and at present, she is a farmer and fisherman too.
As a child, she wanted to become a banker but was also trying to play sports like basketball and volleyball. Her cousin, Alan Jeffress Diaz was the one who taught her weightlifting at the beginning.
As for her education, she went to the Universidad de Zamboanga, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science. But she started becoming an irregular student in 3rd year as she realized it was not for her. She has also said that it even diverted her training.
After her turn in the Olympics of 2016, she decided to resume her tertiary learning and planned to chase a sports-related degree in Manila. Finally, the weightlifter got a scholarship in January 2017 at De La Salle College of Saint Benilde to study business management.
Caption: Hidilyn Diaz when she was young (Source: Instagram)
Body Measurement
Regarding the physical statistics of the athlete, Diaz has an athletic and well-maintained body type. She has a short height of 1.50 m or 4 feet 11 inches. The weightlifter also has a suitable body weight of around 54.90 kg or 121 lb.
Similarly, the Filipino athlete’s bra size is 32 B, her butt size is 32 inches, and her waist size is 28 inches. She has been wearing a dress size of 4 US and a shoe size of 6 US. Hidilyn also has a beautiful and fair complexion with medium-length black hair and black eyes.
Career and Professional Life
In early 2008, the athlete got a wild card entry by the Philippine Weightlifting Association to the Summer Olympics. She is the 1st lady weightlifter to participate in the Olympics representing the Philippines, and also the 2nd weightlifter overall.
At the Southeast Asian Games of 2007, she got the 2nd position to last in a field of twelve weightlifters. Her amazing work was admired and deliberated promising for her age.
Then, she turned out to be the 1st Filipina weightlifter to participate in sequential Olympics through the Continental and World Qualifying Events.
There, she got 9th place getting near to the Olympics. In the 2012 London Olympics, she was selected to be the flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony. Tony Agustin was her trainer, and they planned a 225 kg lift.
She lifted a private top of 97 kg in the grasp, top 12th among the nineteen contestants. However, her 118 kg Clean and Jerk failed after 3 tries. Her weight was 56.28 kg at the time of her 1st Olympic campaign, which made her the lightest among contestants.
In the 2012 Olympics, she gained her weight to 57.70 kg but was still struggling to make it to the highest half.
More
To land a podium finish at the Rio Olympics of 2016, she decided to lose weight and make it under 53 kg. Happily, she earned the Gold Medal in the 1st Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championship that happened in Bangkok.
In the London Olympics of 2012, she got 4th position. She also got 3 bronze medals on 22 November 2015 in the 53 kg division of the IWF World Weightlifting Championship, in Houston, Texas.
In March 2016, she conquered the women’s 58 kg happening at the Philippine National Games National Finals (2015 to 2016), Lingayen Town Plaza, Lingayen, Pangasinan.
In the Summer Olympic Games of 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, she participated in the women’s 53kg weightlifting category. Luckily, she won the silver medal after clinching a lift of 88 kg on her 2nd try and 111 kg and 112 kg on the 1st and 2nd tries.
This was the Philippines’ 1st medal in the Summer Olympics after twenty years and the 1st non-boxing medal since 1936. After participating in the 3 following Olympics, she even turned out to be the 1st Filipino woman and 1st Mindanaoan to achieve an Olympic medal.
On 8th August 2016, she went to Zamboanga City to be a Hero of the City.
Military career
In 2013, Hidilyn Diaz was employed in the Philippine Air Force (PAF) from the military arm’s Direct Enlistment Program.
At first, she was allotted to the Air Force Special Service Group and she got an Air Force Specialty Code skill in weightlifting reformation. She also got a promotion from the rank of Airwoman to Airwoman 2nd Class in 2014.
Then, she got a Military Merit Medal for forming PDF occasions and a Presidential Citation Unit Badge. In 2016, she was consigned to the PAF Personnel Management Center temporarily. Hidilyn was eventually a promotion by the PAF to the Airwoman First Class.
On 13 February 2017, she received an award from the Philippine Sportswriters Association for being the Athlete of the Year.
Caption: Hidilyn Diaz on the field (Source: Instagram)
Relationship Status
Hidilyn Diaz currently is in a lovely relationship with Julius Naranjo. They recently had their engagement with each other and must be planning for their wedding anytime soon.
Her fiancée is a former weightlifter who has participated for Guam in international competitions.
Likewise, he is also a professional weightlifting trainer, a strength and conditioning trainer, and also a filmmaker. They met with each other for the first at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games of the year 2017.
On 24 September 2016, her life was featured in one of the episodes of GMA Network’s “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho”.
Caption: Hidilyn Diaz with her fiancée (Source: Instagram)
Hidilyn Diaz – Social Media
Coming to the social media part, Diaz has been quite active on them since she became a famous personality. The weightlifter has been very famous all over social media platforms. She has an Instagram account with over 271 thousand followers as of 2022.
Likewise, she is active on Facebook where she has 438 thousand followers. The Filipino athlete joined Twitter in March 2011 and is sometimes active there now. Furthermore, there are several pictures and information about Hidilyn on the internet as well.
Hidilyn Diaz – Net Worth 2024
Hidilyn Diaz is one of the wealthiest weightlifters in the Philippines. She has been making an impressive amount of wealth from her professional career as a weightlifter and airwoman. The recent estimated net worth of Diaz is about $1.5 million.
She earns all of this money from her Olympic victories, her business, and from several endorsements too. Moreover, she became the brand ambassador of BDO Unibank. The Filipino athlete has been living a healthy lifestyle with her loved ones in the Philippines.