HIDILYN goes home

TOKYO—It won’t be long before the entire Philippines welcomes its first Olympic gold medalist, Hidilyn Diaz.

Diaz, who won the women’s -55 kgs gold medal of weightlifting in Olympic record fashion at the Tokyo International Forum on Monday night, will be flying back home on Wednesday on board a Philippine Airlines flight.

“It’s mandatory,” Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, referring to protocols set by the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee. “But more important is that Hidilyn wants to be with her family who she hasn’t seen for more than one and a half years now.” Diaz has been training overseas to prepare for her Olympic stint.

Athletes, coaches, officials, and even media are required to leave Japan within 48 hours after the completion of their events or tasks as prescribed by the Tokyo Olympics Playbook.

In Diaz’s case, she has only until Wednesday to return home.

The Philippine Sports Commission is preparing to welcome Diaz, with IATF protocols in mind.  

Diaz and her team—Chinese coach Gao Kaiwen and strength and conditioning coach Julius Naranjo—will have to be hotel quarantined for seven days as set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.(pr)