AWAY from distractions, Olympic gold champion Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo flew out of the country for a two-week training camp in Manama, Bahrain, with the goal of being in top shape for another Olympic qualifying event.
Photo Courtesy: @HidilynDiaz | Facebook
Diaz-Naranjo plans to extend her record of five consecutive Olympic appearances in Paris next year by competing in the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Grand Prix, which will be held in Doha, Qatar on December 2.
Diaz-Naranjo will compete in Doha as the fourth of five Olympic qualifiers on her bucket list. This will also serve as a training run for her next Olympic bid.
“The training camp is set for two weeks,” Diaz-Naranjo added, declining to speculate on her medal chances. “We don’t want any distractions during training, so there’s no better way than to train abroad.”
Julius Naranjo, the gold medalist’s coach-turned-husband, released a video of their first training session on Instagram two days ago, noting that they had a great start despite having a long flight after landing in Manama, Bahrain.
Diaz-Naranjo and her coach-husband Julius Naranjo chose Manama as a training location prior to the Saudi world championships and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September.
When the IWF Olympic Qualification Rankings are released on April 28th, the Filipina needs to be in the top ten of the women’s 59 kg division after these five qualifying events to snag the spot heading to the French city.
The lifting sensation won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics before winning her first and the country’s first gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she dominated the 55kg weight class.
However, the Zamboanga City weightlifting star was obliged to increase her weight to 59 kg, where she came seventh out of 49 competitors in the 2023 IWF World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, two months ago.
Meanwhile, Diaz-Naranjo is still inside qualifying range despite jumping up from her former weight group.
The weightlifting champion recently led the groundbreaking ceremony for her soon-to-be-built HD Weightlifting Academy in Jala-jala Rizal, with the purpose of transforming the training facility into a home for future weightlifters.
