10 Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Diaz makes history, securing first gold for the

NYT TOKYO ‘Entire Filipino nation is proud of you’ ’s com- : The Philippines on Monday cheered its first-ever gold petes on the Until Monday, the Philip- in the Olympics, hailing weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz for edging out during the pines, a sports-mad country of world champion Liao Qiuyun of . “The entire Filipino nation men’s qualification at the Ariake nearly 110 million people, had is proud of you,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo. (AFP) never won an Olympic gold message to the 30-year-old Diaz. medal. The Philippine military also congratulated Diaz, who is a member But Hidilyn Diaz, a weight- of the air force, for her “masterful performance” in the Tokyo Russia lifter at her fourth Olym- 2020 Olympics. “We are now, more than ever, inspired by her ex- pics, finally broke the Philip- ceptional hard work, perseverance and dedication,” said armed gymnasts pines’ nearly century-long forces chief of staff General Cirilito Sobejana. drought by capturing a gold On Twitter, Filipino netizens greeted the historic win and thanked in the women’s 55kg division, Diaz for lifting the country’s spirit amid the Covid-19 pandemic. edge Japan achieving two Olympic records “Thank you for carrying us all,” they tweeted. Some joked that in the process. her victory also showed that the Philippines can actually beat for first “It’s unbelievable,” she China, in reference to a territorial dispute between the two coun- said, caressing the gold medal tries in the South China Sea. all-around hanging on her neck. “I expect- This is the second Olympic medal for Diaz, who won a silver in ed to win, but when you hold the women’s 53kg in 2016. In 2018, she also made history at this already, it’s like, Wow, I the as the first Filipino weightlifter to win gold in team gold never thought this would hap- the regional games. (DPA) pen today.” in 25 years Diaz, 30, said that her record-breaking 127 kilogram though, didn’t seem an option. the pandemic, Diaz has been DPA lift in the clean and jerk event Philippines’ Hidilyn Diaz competes in the women’s 55kg weightlifting competition during the Tokyo 2020 “It was just survival,” she training in Malaysia, staying Tokyo was the first time she had at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo on Monday. (AFP) said. “I’m the breadwinner in away from the Philippines, successfully hefted that much my family.” where cases proliferated de- Russian gymnasts claimed weight. In training, she had to win a medal but the gold ograms, an Olympic record, with It turned out she could lift But the fun eventually re- spite a strict lockdown. a first men’s team all-around maxed out at 125 kilograms, seemed like it was the preserve barely a hint of discomfort. To more than the boys. She start- turned, and Diaz won a silver At the Asian champion- Olympic gold in 25 years on she said. of Liao Qiuyun, the Chinese win, Diaz would have to surpass ed out with pieces of wood, in Rio. Desperate for a gold ship in Uzbekistan in April, Monday when they withstood She also claimed another reigning Asia champion. In what she had done before — by then jeep wheel protectors, medal, the Philippine sporting Diaz held back, said Monico a late effort from hosts and Olympic record for the total the most recent Asia champi- 2 kilograms. She pulled the bar then blocks of cement. establishment persuaded her Puentevella, a veteran politi- 2016 winners Japan. of her two best lifts, one in the onships, Diaz, who is 4 feet 11 to her clavicle, then staggered She eventually was recruit- not to retire before Tokyo. cian who has also served as the A score of 14.466 from world snatch and the other in the inches, had come in fourth. for a moment as she thrust the ed to the Philippine national The Philippines is crazy head of the national weightlift- champion Nikita Nagorny in his clean and jerk. But as the other top con- barbells into the sky. One Mis- team, but when sports officials for sports. During the years ing federation and the Philip- exercise was enough to The finale of the 55 kilo- tenders approached the bar- sissippi, two Mississippi. mentioned the 2008 Beijing of American colonization, the pine Olympic Committee. She secure gold with Denis Ablia- gram competition provided bells grim-faced Monday, Diaz The gold was hers. Olympics to her, she didn’t YMCA introduced a new sport settled for fourth. The idea zin, and David high drama in a sport that can kept smiling. On the final lift, The second youngest of know what the Games were, played with a ball and fruit was to lull the Chinese into Belyavskiy in the eight-team fi- sometimes feel preordained, the top three competitors and six siblings, Diaz grew up in she said. As a 17-year-old at baskets. Today, basketball is thinking that Diaz had reached nal with 262.500 points. given the dominance of a Chi- their coaches scrambled to de- the southern Philippine city of those Games, she was the ubiquitous across the archi- her full potential, he said. The “We are overwhelmed. Six nese squad that was expected to cide what weight they should Zamboanga, a place intermit- youngest female weightlifter pelago. Boxing is popular, too, ploy seemed to have worked. months ago we said we would prevail in all four weight classes call. Too light, and they might tently seized by sectarian con- in competition. especially after Manny Pac- “I have been dreaming of win this gold and we have now it was contesting in Tokyo. be outpaced. Too heavy, and flict. Her family was poor, and In 2012, Diaz suffered an quiao, the longtime champion this gold medal for so many confirmed it,” said Dalaloyan Diaz, a silver medalist at they might not make the lift. she tried weight lifting as an injury that left her mentally turned politician, burst onto years,” said Puentevella, 75. who was competing in Tokyo the 2016 Rio Olympics, went For her last turn, the Chi- 11-year-old, tagging along with and physically drained, she the scene. “Now that she’s won, I can die despite rupturing his Achilles into the competition hoping nese competitor cleared 126 kil- the older boys of her family. said. Quitting weightlifting, Since the early days of happy.” tendon in late April. But it was an anxious wait for the Russians before they could celebrate a first gold since Atlanta 1996 in the Ari- ake Gymnastics Centre. Gold for Peaty and MacNeil, Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto had received 15.000 point for a spectacular performance in the final rota- Ledecky loses to Titmus tion. That was good enough to DPA snatch silver from China but Tokyo Nagorny’s score which flashed up a minute later meant they A dominant Adam Peaty won missed gold by the fraction of gold in the 100m breaststroke .103 of a point with a tally of at the Tokyo Olympics on 262.397. The Chinese team Monday, as Australia’s Ari- amassed 261.864. arne Titmus shocked Ameri- “I was waiting with baited can superstar Katie Ledecky breath and nervous,” Dalaloy- Japan’s Jun Mizutani (3L) and Mima Ito (L) celebrate beating China’s to win the 400m freestyle and an said. Xu Xin (2L) and Liu Shiwen (R) in their mixed doubles table tennis Margaret MacNeil won the “But in the end we won the final match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Monday.(AFP) 100m butterfly. gold. We did it. We were all The US meanwhile won great.” gold in the men’s 4x100m Hashimoto said: “We Japan end China’s table freestyle relay. weren’t quite sure how the re- Peaty became the first Brit- sult would turn out. on to win consecutive Olympic I was carrying the passion tennis hegemony with golds in the same swimming of the team. I was exhilerated event thanks to victory in when I landed. I didn’t even 57.37 seconds, the fifth fast- consider the colour of the mixed doubles gold est time in the history of the medal.” event. He now has 18 of the 19 Team-mate Kauzuma Kata DPA 1 hour 17 minutes. fastest times ever recorded. said that “it was very disap- Tokyo The mixed doubles made “I’m so buzzed because pointing when we saw that gap its Olympic debut in Tokyo that was the first,” he said of 0.1 points” and team-mate Japan’s Jun Mizutani and and Mizutani and Ito made “You can do what you want all Britain’s Adam Peaty (C) celebrates winning to take gold ahead of Netherlands’ Arno Kamminga (R) in the Wataru Tanigawa admitted Mima Ito claimed a historic the most of it and with it also year round, you can do what final of the men’s 100m breaststroke swimming event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo “I thought we had won” after first table tennis mixed dou- got a first-ever gold for their you want in your own arena, Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on Monday. (AFP) Hashimoto’s routine. bles Olympic gold on Monday country in the sport. your own backyard - it doesn’t The men continue with as they ended China’s un- China has won 28 of the mean anything. “I’m trying to contain it as region record in the process. come early in the Japanese the individual all-around on beaten run in the sport at the 33 Olympic table tennis golds, “It means everything here. much as I can. I have a big pro- China’s Zhang Yufei day to suit American broad- Wednesday, with Tuesday re- Games after 17 years. have three and No one thinks about times. gramme ahead of me, but I can missed out on gold by just 0.05 casters. served for the women’s team China had not lost a table Sweden and Japan one apiece. Yes, it would have been amaz- enjoy this afterwards.” seconds, while Emma McK- Ledecky posted an Olym- event where the Russian ath- tennis final since the 2004 The last non-Chinese Olympic ing to finish on a world record, China’s Li Bingjie came eon of Australia won bronze pic record 15:35.35 seconds in letes surprisingly led qualifying Games but Xu Xin and Liu champion until Monday was but it’s not about that.” distant third with 4:01.08, a thanks to an even smaller qualifying first for the 1,500m ahead of the American team Shiwen squandered a 2-0 set South Korean Ryu Seung Min The 26-year-old, whose new Asian record. margin, 0.01 seconds, over final, a race she is expected to with superstar Simone Biles. lead and after tying at 3-3 were in men’s singles 2004 in Athens. gold was the first for Britain Ledecky, a five-time Olym- fourth-placed Torri Huske of win by a distance. beaten 11-6 in the deciding It was the eighth gold over- in Tokyo at the time, handily pic champion, had not lost an the US. She also topped the 200m frame on second match point all for Japan at their Tokyo dispatched Dutchman Arno Olympic final before Monday. Sarah Sjostrom, cham- freestyle heats, with Titmus when Xu netted a return after home Games. Kamminga, the only other The 24-year-old American pion in Rio and world record fourth, while Italian great Fed- swimmer who has managed is also set to compete in the holder, placed seventh. Her erica Pellegrini had a scare but to step on Peaty’s previously 200m, 800m and the newly participation in the Games reached the semis 15th of 16 uncharted waters by clocking introduced 1500m freestyle was in doubt after she broke who advanced. a sub-58-second swim. races in Tokyo. her elbow slipping on ice in There was a similar escape Quick read Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi “I can’t be too disappoint- February. for South African Chad Le took home the bronze with ed,” said Ledecky. “It was my The US team of Caleb Clos, champion in 2012, who Storm approaches but worries ease 58.33. second best swim ever (over Dressel, Blake Pieroni, Bowen took the last spot in the men’s The impact of tropical storm Nepartak on the Olympic Games in Titmus defeated world re- 400m freestyle). I felt like Becker and Zach Apple was 200m butterfly semis. Tokyo could be less than feared despite some events already be- cord holder and Rio champion I fought tooth and nail and just half a second shy of the Hungarian world cham- ing rescheduled, organizers said Monday. “You should not be too Ledecky of the US by 0.67 sec- that’s all you can ask for.” world record with 3:08.97 in pion Kristof Milak topped the worried about the storm,” Tokyo 2020 spokesperson Masa Tayaka onds with an Oceania record Earlier, reigning world their relay win ahead of Italy standings. said. The storm is expected to arrive on the Japanese mainland 3:56.69 minutes, her second champion MacNeil turned on and Australia. His compatriot Katinka (From L) Gold medalits Russia’s late Tuesday and archery has already adjusted the timing of gold, the day after success in the jets after finishing the first Dressel is chasing a six- Hosszu, champions in Rio, , Russia’s Denis matches with ties due to be played in the second session moved to the Australian 4x100m free- 50 metres in seventh position gold haul at the Games over was a strong second in the Abliazin, Russia’s Artur Dalaloyan Wednesday and Thursday. Rowing has also delayed medal events style relay. to touch the wall in 55.59, win- three individual events and women’s 200m individual and Russia’s Nikita Nagornyy to Wednesday but sailing and surfing, depending on where exactly “It is the biggest thing you ning Canada’s first gold medal three relays. medley after disappointment celebrate on the podium after win- the storm lands, could now be unaffected. Nepartak had caused can pull off in your sporting at the Tokyo Games after tak- The second session con- in the 400m earlier in the ning the artistic gymnastics men’s weather authorities concern as they warned of heavy rains. (DPA) career, so I’m over the moon,” ing silver in the relay. sisted only of heats as, unu- Games. America’s Kate Dou- team final at the Ariake Gymnas- said Titmus. She also set an Americas sually, the finals in Tokyo all glass was quickest. tics Centre on Monday. (AFP)