Weightlifting Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz marked her 34th birthday on Friday, February 21, with a simple yet meaningful celebration.
Sharing glimpses on social media, Hidilyn documented her day as she prepared a feast for her family, friends, and the young athletes she mentors.
“How I celebrated my 34th birthday yesterday. I try to do content, practice, cook for the kids, and just be happy,” the Filipino athlete said.
Hidilyn expressed her heartfelt gratitude to everyone who remembered her birthday.
“Thank you for remembering my birthday, I feel like the whole month of February is my birthday because of your greetings, love, and care,” she stated.
She also gave a special shout-out to the students and parents from her HD Weightlifting Academy, who surprised her with a birthday cake.
“To the @hdweightliftingacademy athletes and family for surprising me with the cake at nagambagan pa talaga kayo para sa cake,” she wrote.
READ: Hidilyn Diaz opens weightlifting academy on a special day
Hidilyn’s husband and coach, Julius Naranjo, also dedicated a touching message to her, reminiscing about their journey together before fame and success.
“This photo was before our lives have changed in the most unimaginable ways. Before the fame. Before the stress & weight gain. Before the greater challenges of following up an Olympic gold. Before the betrayal and many, many more things,” Coach Julius expressed.
Despite their challenges, Julius emphasized their shared commitment to giving back.
“We can look back and see how much simpler & easier it was before we chose to chase the elusive Gold. And here we are now, still working for the sport that makes us and breaks us.”
“Here we are giving back and building our academy to give our athletes the chance we were just lucky to have,” he added.
Looking ahead, he reflected on their journey, he expressed, “We can say that when we reached our summit, we were just at base camp for our next climb. And I don’t think we’d have it any other way.”
“Our pain and challenges we faced together only makes our story sweeter, and only few can really understand it. We’re tired, but we won’t let it stop us for the future of our sport. 😘,” he continued.
Producer and manager Noel Ferrer also extended his birthday greetings to Hidilyn, recognizing her dedication to weightlifting and her athlete advocacy.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our very first Olympic Gold Medalist HIDILYN DIAZ who is now very busy doing work to promote weightlifting in the grassroots while partnering with DepEd to make weightlifting a demo sport (finally) at the Palarong Pambansa,” he stated.
He went on: “She is still very active in being the voice of the Filipino athletes in whatever fora and in training young athletes in the Hidilyn Diaz Weightlifting Academy along with her husband Julius.”
Beyond sports, Hidilyn is also pursuing her passion for cooking. Earlier in February, she completed the Fundamentals in Culinary Arts Course at the Center for Culinary Arts Manila.
READ: Hidilyn Diaz graduates from culinary program
She previously shared her long-standing dream of studying culinary arts, a goal she set when she was 22.
"This moment is for me to learn new skills - join classes and workshops to learn to cook and bake. I have long wanted to take culinary courses since I was 22 years old, and now, I will not just imagine doing pasta, pizza, and kare-kare, I will bake and cook some for my friends and family," she said.
Before her birthday, Hidilyn also participated in a Read-Along program, where she read to children for the first time.
“As a first-timer reading to kids, I’m so thankful to Kuya Rich and Kuya Rey for coaching and guiding me in connecting with the little ones. It’s always a joy to inspire and positively influence the younger generation! ❤️,” she said in a caption.