MANILA – Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo was confident when she said the future is bright for Philippine weightlifting, as she lauded the latest achievement of 19-year-old Albert Ian Delos Santos.
Diaz-Naranjo, the country's first Olympic gold medalist, has been hard at work sharing her knowledge of weightlifting through speaking engagements and clinics across the country while also teaching at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Despite her busy schedule, the 35-year-old has made it a point to show her support for the country's young weightlifters, including Delos Santos.
Diaz-Naranjo was at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games last year when Delos Santos won silver in the men's 71kg category, where he also set a new juniors world record of 186kg in clean and jerk.
It was also at the SEA Games when Diaz pointed to Delos Santos and proudly described him as the future of Philippine weightlifting.
READ: Record-setting Delos Santos seen as future of PH weightlifting
Earlier this month, Diaz-Naranjo was in Egypt as representative of the IWF Athlete Commission, but she made sure to cheer on her fellow Filipino weightlifter.
Diaz-Naranjo witnessed Delos Santos winning gold in the IWF Junior World Championships, where he also broke his own record lifting 187kg in clean and jerk.
It was a proud moment for the Olympic gold medalist, especially since her husband-coach Julius Naranjo is one of the coaches of Delos Santos alongside his mother Diwa.
"I was there and siyempre sobrang saya ako as a gold medalist. Tapos makita ko na, wow, in person na nakita ko na si Ian nag-break ng record ng world junior," she told ABS-CBN News in an exclusive interview on Monday.
READ: Albert delos Santos sets new junior world record, strikes golds at IWF Worlds
Diaz-Naranjo looked back on her earlier years in weightlifting, underscoring the weight of the achievement of the Zamboanga City native at his age.
"Nakaka-proud kasi siyempre na parang nung time ko hirap kaya, nahirap kaming maka-medal sa youth and junior tapos hirap kami na medal lang yun. Ngayon, nakarecord siya. So, ang laki ng ginawa niya," she shared.
"Kasi kahit natapos na, matatapos this year ang pagiging junior niya, pero iniwan niya yung record ng Pilipinas doon. Pangalan niya at sa kasama din ng picture ng tatay niya, nakakaiyak at nakakaproud siya," Diaz-Naranjo added.
For Delos Santos, it still feels surreal knowing that he has the Naranjo couple by his side in his weightlifting journey.
The pride of Zamboanga City considers Diaz-Naranjo as one of his idols, following her historic and golden achievement at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
READ: How weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos turned grief into gold
"It's a very proud moment to get to this point now. Because back then I was just watching them from my screen, always going back to Haidie's Tokyo Olympics video and hearing them there. Wow," Delos Santos shared.
"And every time I come back to their condo, I just go to the gold medal in the living room, get it and just manifest it all the time. Yeah. I think that's pretty much it for me. Such a proud moment for me to get to this point," he said.
Naranjo is happy to see the young weightlifter growing not just as an athlete but also as a person, something he puts a premium on as a coach.
"Well, I think what I'm seeing from Ian is growth. I think he's learning now. He's understanding now why I'm so strict, why I'm a strict coach, why I set limits. He understands now why sometimes I have to be the bad cop. And I guess that's why with his mom and I, we have such a good dynamic," he said.
"I think for Ian to trust the process, to go through the growth. I mean, he's only 19 years old, right? So it's important to understand that he's growing as a person then. It's not always about the winning, the medals, the records. As long as he grows as a person, it's important," Naranjo added.
The Olympic gold medalist is looking forward to seeing Delos Santos compete on a bigger stage – hopefully in Los Angeles where the 2028 Summer Games will be held.
Diaz-Naranjo, meanwhile, rallied support for Delos Santos in his journey toward Los Angeles 2028.
"Sobrang nakakatuwa at nakakaproud and looking forward na maglaro siya sa LA 2028, so nangangailangan talaga namin ng support kasi kailangan nilang maglaro ng 10 competitions para pag-qualify," Diaz-Naranjo said.
"And lima doon ang titignan yung total. Tapos i-cocompare yun, top eight sila kailangan in the world para masigurado ang ranking niya or yung pagpasok niya sa Olympic qualifying. So mahirap pero alam naman namin na kaya niya. Pero at the end of the day, we need the support of everyone," she added.