Epic prize for an epic feat: P35.5M, house and lot await Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz
(UPDATE 9:57 a.m.) Hidilyn Diaz will be receiving an additional P2.5 million from her hometown Zamboanga City, bumping her total cash haul to P35.5 million.
MANILA, Philippines – Apart from winning a historic gold medal for the Philippines, weightlifting wonder Hidilyn Diaz will have 33 million — and then some more — reasons to be happy.
As mandated by law, Diaz is set to receive P10 million from the government for ruling the weightlifting women’s 55kg category in the Tokyo Olympics Monday night. Meanwhile, a silver is worth P5 million while a bronze P2 million, but additional pledges from various individuals have bumped the total prize to P17 million and P7 million, respectively.
TRACKER: Hidilyn at the Tokyo Olympics
An additional P10 million each from business tycoons and sports patrons Manny V. Pangilinan of PLDT and Ramon S. Ang of San Miguel, and P3 million from deputy speaker Mikey Romero bring Diaz’s total cash prize to P33 million.
But wait, there’s more.
Diaz, who cleared 127kg in her final lift in clean and jerk and finished with a total of 224kg lifted — both Olympic records — will also be given a house and lot in Tagaytay courtesy of Philippine Olympic president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
The Zamboanga City pride beat Chinese Liao Qiuyun in a dramatic showdown en route to her golden feat.
Diaz is now easily the most accomplished Philippine Olympian. She’s not just a gold medal winner but a multi-medal winner – the first for the Philippines since swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso won back-to-back bronzes in 1928 and 1932. – With reports from Nelson Beltran and Joey Villar
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