Monday, July 26, 2021

The woman who who the Philippines' first ever gold medal previously feared for her life after being identified as part of a plot to overthrow the government

NPR today:

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz made history Monday, winning the Philippines' first gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The country had been trying to reach the podium's top spot for nearly 100 years: It sent its first Olympic delegation to Paris for the 1924 Games.

CNN in 2019:

Fear gripped Olympian Hidilyn Diaz upon learning that she is in a supposed conspiracy to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Filipino lady weightlifter, who bagged the first gold medal for the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games, said she found the "Oust Duterte" matrix funny at first, but considered it a threat to her life now.

...

In a video attached to the statement, Diaz lamented how she landed on the matrix when all she has in mind is to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and represent the country.