Philippines Takes Olympic Gold For First Time In 97 Years

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hidilyn diaz wins olympic gold for philippines

The Philippines have seen its athletes compete in the Olympics for 97 years now.

But in all that time, the island nation has rarely podiumed in any event, winning its first bronze medal in the 1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam when swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso took third in the men’s 200m breaststroke.

It would take nearly 40 years before the nation would win its first silver medal, when Anthony Villaneuva earned second place in men’s featherweight boxing.

But today, the Philippines finally won Olympic gold.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz set an Olympic record with the effort, claiming an overall lift of 224 kg in the women’s 55-kilogram division.

Diaz beat out the event’s betting favorite, topping Liao Qiuyun’s total of 223 kg.

Qiuyun set the world record in the division at the 2019 Worlds, lifting a total of 227 kg, and her loss here is one of the biggest upsets of the 2020/2021 Olympic Games so far.

This is Diaz’ second Olympic medal, as she took silver in Rio at the 2016 Olympic Games in the 53kg division.

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