When Hidilyn Diaz took to Twitter sometime last year to vent her frustration at the incredibly worn-out facilities provided by the government for national athletes, she was met with support but also with consternation.
A number of people who saw her tweet did not particularly appreciate her rant, calling her an airhead, one whose silver medal achievement for women's weightlifting at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics had caused her to sport an inflated sense of ego.
Of course, the claim of Diaz being an egotistical airhead escapes past those who are familiar with the challenges and sufferings she had to go through before reaching the heights of her success as a national athlete.
A nobody prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics, Diaz slogged her way through poverty in her hometown in Zamboanga City before committing to the sport of weightlifting against her family's wishes.
From zero to hero
She was outside of everybody's radar when the Philippine delegation was sent to Brazil until the moment she lifted enormous weights past her head. She bagged the silver medal in a tight race, in the process ending the 20-year medal drought of the Philippines in the world's most prestigious sports event.
At the ongoing Asian Games 2018 in Indonesia, Diaz made waves again, this time bagging the gold medal in the women's weightlifting 53 kg division.
The poignancy of the occasion is not lost on Diaz, who once again stepped up to bring to the Philippines its first gold medal.
Because gold medalists in major sporting events such as the Asian Games are entitled to cash incentives totaling P6 million, many of the questions thrown at Diaz delved on how she plans to spend her cash windfall.
In an interview, Diaz managed to say that because of the pressure to win the gold, she had to endure long trainings and sleepless days, so much so that her studies had to take a backseat. Inevitably, the questions returned to how she'll spend her cash incentives.
Formidable woman
In 2016, following her successful stint at the Rio Olympics, Diaz spent part of her cash incentives in building a quality weightlifting gym in her hometown. The gym was designed to accommodate the public and to serve as a training ground for athletes wishing to become better at the sport.
Because Diaz knows how hard it is to train with rundown facilities, she made sure to equip her gym, which was inaugurated last year, with much better facilities.
Diaz said whenever she's around, she personally oversees the coaching of those who use the gym, particularly those who aspire of becoming someone like her in the future.
Diaz's generous vision and insistence on making a positive difference certainly make this dream of budding athletes closer to reality.
All told, her formidability and unrelenting faith in a country that expects too much but provides little support make her a people's athlete through and through.