Filipino Hidilyn Diaz ends China’s golden streak at the weightlifting to earn her country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal

China’s golden weightlifting run was halted on Monday as Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines won the women’s 55kg with a new Olympic record at the Tokyo International Forum.

Former Asian Games winner Diaz, 30, is a sergeant in the Philippine Air Force. She registered two Olympic records to seal her place in the record books.

The four-time Olympian hit the headlines for her country in 2016 when she ended the Philippines’ 20-year Olympic medal drought by claiming silver in the women’s 53kg weight category.

Diaz posted a total of 224kg (97kg snatch and 127kg clean and jerk) to secure Olympic records in the clean and jerk and for her overall weight.

The Filipino star will forever be known as her country’s first Olympic gold medalist. The veteran fought back tears on the podium as her anthem played for the first time at the Olympics.

Boxing, athletics and swimming were the sole providers of the Philippines’ Olympic hardware until Diaz broke through at Rio 2016.

China’s Liao Qiuyun was seeking to maintain her country’s perfect record in weightlifting in Tokyo after the three previous events were all won by her teammates. The 2020 Asian Championships gold medallist pitched a total of 223kg (97kg snatch and 126kg clean and jerk), one kilogram less than Diaz, to take silver.

Kazakhstan’s three-time world champion Zulfiya Chinshanlo secured bronze with a return of 213kg (90kg snatch and 123kg clean and jerk).

You can watch video highlights from the weightlifting event so far on the IWF’s Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRxEL8iqp-w/?utm_medium=copy_link

The weightlifting event gathers pace on Tuesday with both the women’s 59kg and 64kg categories set to be contested.

This article brought to you by the International Weightlifting Federation