By REY C. LACHICA
The schedule of Hidilyn Diaz, the country’s first Olympic gold medal winner, is getting tighter but exciting these days.
Thursday was extra special, and Friday was also a happy one.
On Thursday, several hours after she personally received the P3 million check from Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero (1-Pacman Partylist) at Sofitel as her reward for ending the country’s long and agonizing search for that precious medallion, Diaz was finally reunited with her parents.
This time the happy reunion took place at Newport Resorts World near NAIA Terminal 3.
Like any family reunion, it was nostalgic as they recalled the sweet moments they shared the last time they were together. That was almost two years already.
Diaz’s parents – Eduardo and Emerlita – were there along with hundreds of expectant supporters when she won her first SEA Games gold medal in December of 2019.
And on Friday, Diaz burst in excitement when she first saw her sexy car — a Kia Stonic SUV from Ayala Foundation – that was parked in front of the main entrance of Sheraton Manila where she and her parents were staying.
The top-of-the-line car — delivered by former basketball commissioner Chino Trinidad — was given to Diaz in recognition to her extra ordinary effort in beating a Chinese world champion rival in one of the compelling showdowns in the Tokyo Games.
A veteran broadcast journalist and TV producer, Trinidad is one of Diaz’s “fairy godfathers.”
Fittingly, she was the recipient of the foundation’s first-ever “Atletang Magiting” award.
Diaz was grateful for Manny V. Pangilinan’s MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF) for her reunion with her parents.
And since some of the pledges – monetary (close to P50 million) and otherwise – have yet to be delivered, expect the coming days to be extra tight for country’s “Super Woman.”
It was Romero who labelled Diaz as “Super Woman” for gallantly laying to rest the ghost of the country’s past failures in the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. (REY C. LACHICA)