by Kristel Satumbaga-Villar, MB
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Athletes’ Commission has chosen Hidilyn Diaz as one of the three representatives to the IWF Executive Board in a milestone moment for the sport.
Diaz will join Forrester Osei of Ghana, who retains leadership of the Athletes’ Commission, and Luisa Peters, who retired from competition after representing Cook Islands after the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The three chosen representatives will serve as full voting members of the IWF Congress and will remain in post until the next IWF electoral congress.
The IWF also becomes the first international federation to achieve such a level of athlete representation as far as IWF President Mohamed Jalood is concerned.
“I am delighted to welcome Forrester, Hidilyn and Luisa to the IWF Executive Board,” Jalood said.
“We look forward to working closely together as we seek to shape a new future for weightlifting, which places athletes at the center of everything we do.”
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Jalood added strengthening athlete representation in decision-making “is a key stepping stone to greater accountability and progress in our sport.”
The new Athletes’ Commission will hold its first meeting online in the coming weeks to discuss short-, medium- and long-term objectives.
Part of its priorities is establishing the athlete scholarship program.
Diaz is widely known as the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist when she won in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She has also recently claimed a world championships title.
