THE year was 2008 and there she was, only 17, wet between the ears and competing on the world’s biggest sports stage-the 29th edition of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Hidilyn Diaz-looking so young, innocent and every inch the barrio teen from Barangay Mampang in Zamboanga City-was to compete against the best of the best in weightlifting.
The result was what everyone expected, but all the potentials were there.
Fast forward to Tokyo in 2021 in the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics and Diaz was again there, in her prime and coming off a silver medal from Rio de Janeiro four years ago.
She did the unprecedented. She etched her name and that of the Philippines. She won the country’s first Olympic gold medal on her fourth appearance in the quadrennial games called the greatest show on earth.
Come 2024 in Paris-exactly a hundred years to the day when the French capital first hosted the Games and, in the same manner, the century mark for the Philippine participation in the Olympics.
There was no Diaz on the roster but there was Carlos Yulo, who was a giant in his 4-foot-11 muscular frame with two gold medals in men’s vault and floor exercise of gymnastics.
Three gold medals in consecutive Olympics and the BusinessMirror was there to chronicle the biggest breakthrough by any Southeast Asian country in the Olympics.
‘Unbelievable? Unforgettable!’ remarked Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee under whose watch came those milestones in Philippine sports.
Then Philippine Sports Commission chairman William ‘Butch’ Ramirez was more that ecstatic on Diaz’s accomplishment.
‘She’ll be a national treasure forever,’ said Ramirez, who, like everybody else in Philippine sports, dreamt of that elusive gold medal that not all countries have won.
Filipinos show strength
MANNY PACQUIAO is a no brainer as perhaps the most popular Filipino athlete ever-everywhere BusinessMirror goes around the world, the Philippines has become synonymous with Pacquiao.
Pacquiao may have enamored the world, but there was Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes who’s the hands down choice as the G.O.A.T. in billiards, even at a ripe age of 71 he continues to mesmerize the world with his magic on the table.
There’s Ernest John ‘EJ’ Obiena, the two-time Olympian who’s now a member of the exclusive 6.0 Meters Club in men’s pole vault and Yuka Saso, whose exploits on the golf course came even before she embraced Japanese citizenship.
Nonito Donaire Jr. couldn’t be denied a niche up there on the global boxing ring, and Carlo Biado, a potential heir apparent to Reyes on the pool table-not to mention Rubilen Amit, whose name is added to the dreaded long list of Filipino world-class cue artists.
SEA Games domination
IN a span of two decades, the Philippines emered overall champion of the biennial 11-nation Southeast Asian Games.
In 2005, Team Philippines was frolicked on home soil to dominate the games right before Filipino fans and to celebrate the success, all gold medalists were treated to a wonderful trip to then then newly-opened Hong Kong Disneyland.
Those games, too, marked a first in the event’s history when the opening ceremony was held not inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, but along Roxas Boulevard.
Fourteen years later in 2019 and the 30th edition of the SEA Games, Filipino athletes didn’t disappoint-they were overall champions once more in what was one of the biggest games ever in the number of events and sports.
It was one massive and extensive hosting chore that involved dozens of competition and practice venues, as well as local government involvement.
Gilas Pilipinas conquers
THE event at the Mall of Asia Arena was the Asian Qualifiers for the FIBA 2014 World Cup and the game was a crucial one against South Korea-the winner was to advance to the gold medal play and as important, clinch a ticket to the worlds in 2014 in Spain.
Just like the rest, the Filipino dribblers didn’t disappoint and went on to beat the Koreans and off to Seville they went for only the country’s second participation in the World Cup since the 1978 hosting at the Araneta Coliseum.
Move further to 2023 in Hangzhou in the 19th Asian Games.
Tim Cone and his bunch at Gilas Pilipinas defeated not Iran or China or South Korea, but Jordan to win back for the Philippines the Asian Games men’s basketball gold medal.
Future gets brighter
WITH Hidilyn Diaz sparking and Carlos Yulo sustaining the Olympic gold medal rush, there’s no other way for the Philippines but to continue what is now becoming a trend among Filipino athletes.
The men’s volleyball team, known as Alas Pilipinas, made history in the country’s hosting of the FIVB world championship only last month by beating many-time African champion and worlds regular Egypt and were a net fault away from toppling Iran for a round-of-16 appearance in the elite competition.
‘That’s historic and we will eagerly build on that momentum, not only in volleyball, but in all other sports,’ said Patrick ‘Patò’ Gregorio, chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission.
To keep the momentum, Gregorio concocted a formula built primarily around a sports tourism campaign and inclusive participation of all sectors in sports development-from grassroots to elite.
The legacy of the three Olympic gold medals-and the historic accomplishments in other fronts-according to Gregorio, are the foundation of Filipino athletes winning side by side with the giants of sports.
‘The future of Philippine sports has become brighter than ever,’ he said.