A Special Olympic Post

 

What a wonderful day it was yesterday to find out that Hidilyn Diaz earned the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal!

Let me break down this joy:

1. The first Filipino to get the gold is a Filipina!

2. In weightlifting, no less! She disregarded all the Filipina mothers’ advice that “women shouldn’t lift weights, ang matres mo!” She disregarded the pressure to conform to the Filipino conventions of what a woman should look like, what a woman should focus on. Hidilyn did Hidilyn and she embraced her strengths and unique qualities, conventions be damned. This is what it looks like when we embrace our true strengths and strive to be the best that we can be, without listening to what the rest of the world thinks.

3. Beating the world’s number 1 from China in the process, and the contestant from Kazakhstan too! Those countries are known for the strength of their athletes, and 4 foot 11 Hidilyn beat them!

4. She maxed out at 125kg in training but heroically managed the record-beating 127kg in the Olympic event! A moonshot, to aim for that weight at the actual event; what an accomplishment.

I am so happy that a Filipina made it big in the world stage — we do amazing jobs at world pageants, which I also follow and am so proud of, but it is quite wonderful to have a Filipina make it big in an international event (THE international event) for something other than beauty. She hustled at what she is good at. She didn’t force herself into a box, but broke out of it. I’m happy that millions of Filipina kids will have a wonderful role model in her: literally, the strongest Filipina.  

Yes, the Filipina can!

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