NEWSLETTER

JULY 11,2022

How did her story Hidilyn Diaz is never exempted from controversies, from her seeing her funds
for her sporting career to being falsely linked to the "Oust Duterte" matrix. She

become history still have the courage to continue to prove her strength, passion and love for
the country.

Showed liberality by sharing her strength as the empowerment of women as

In writing her story with the bold strokes of she was the first to gift the country its much awaited Olympic gold.
perseverance, hard work and faith in a
Being higher than herself, Tokyo 2020 Thank you for showing strength and courage despite being mocked as a
woman athlete and red-tagged by the Duterte government for standing up
Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, made against the lack of government support for Filipino athletes,” the partylist
history for the Philippines. posts.
It was the first Olympic gold for the country
Legaspi, J. (2021, July 27). Hidilyn Diaz's Olympic Win is a testament of Filipino
in almost 100 years — since sprinter Jose
women's strength and spirit. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved July 11,2022,from
Nepomuceno competed as a lone https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/27/hidilyn-diazs-olympic-win-is-a-testament-of-
Philippine participant in the 1924 Games in filipino-womens-strength-and-spirit/
Paris. In 1964, boxer Anthony Villanueva
bagged the country’s first-ever silver,
followed by another boxer, Onyok Velasco,
in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia; and Hidilyn
herself won a silver in the 2016 Rio
Olympics, The Philippines also has had
seven bronze Olympic medals through the
years.

Those who stand tallest but bow down in thanksgiving to the Almighty
are the world’s mightiest.
“Kung ako lang ito, di ko ito magagawa. Parang impossible. Salamat
God sa pagdala ng mga tao, government support, private support,
pamilya, kaibigan, at prayer warriors para magawa ko ito at maging
possible,” she wrote via Instagram after her historic feat.
She also quoted Scripture: Jesus looked at them and said, “With man
this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew
19:26)

A video of Hidilyn right after her astounding victory shows her running to her team backstage and asking one of them to hang a
medal on her neck — the Miraculous Medal of Our Lady. Thus, she was wearing two medals when the Philippine flag was raised
to honor her and her country. Hidilyn show modesty where her goal is to reach the golden mean between giving all you have
and being a pinchpenny. This is the virtue of charity.
In the beginning, she did not have the proper
equipment for training, but she persevered. After
winning her first few competitions, the aspiring
athlete won the confidence of benefactors and
received donations in the form of barbells and
weights. She was no longer weighed down by lack of
equipment, and so she took off.

“It’s true what they say, ‘No pain, no gain.’ In times

that I fail, I acknowledge it. I would feel bad, but I
don’t use my failure as a reason to give up. Instead, I
use it as fuel to better my performance each day,”
she told PeopleAsia.

Those days of fish vending and cleaning jeepneys are

definitely over for Hidilyn who said she aspires to
inspire the Filipino youth, it emphasizes Hidilyn's
proper ambition on achieving her goal. Proving that
all the virtues, there isn’t a definitive list of worthy
sources of honor. It comes down to the her inner
compass.

Diaz, who is also an active sergeant in the Philippines'

airforce, was one of several individuals listed in
documents that illustrated a plot to oust Duterte in
May 2019 by Chief Presidential Legal Counsel
Salvador Panelo. Diaz also wasn't the only athlete
who was named, as Filipino volleyball star and TV
personality Gretchen Ho was also included.

Diaz vigorously denied the claims shortly after her

allegations were relased to the public in a video she
posted to her social media channels.

"I do not need defamation, accusations, made-up

stories," she added. "I do not need lies from our
fellow Filipinos. I need support, not just for me but
for all Filipino athletes. I am not just lifting weights, I
am uplifting the dignity of every Filipino."
But throughout the public backlash, Diaz remained
committed to her goal of training for the Tokyo
Some are born strong,
Olympics, which extended another year after the
COVID-19 pandemic delayed the Games in 2020. Diaz
and others are made
stood her ground or stand firm with the truth and
continued with her goal, shows her virtue that she strong.
J.R. Rim
advocates honesty.

After all, heavy loads bring her victory — and lift her
country.