By CARLO ANOLIN
Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz is now engaged to boyfriend and coach Julius Naranjo.
Diaz announced their engagement on social medial Saturday, Oct. 16.
“It’s YES! It was a magical moment with @imjulius,” wrote Diaz on her Instagram account, extending gratitude to those who helped Naranjo with the proposal. “I’m grateful to God that He sent Julius into my life, he make my life easy.”
“Alam ng iba kung ano mga sinasakripisyo niya para maabot namin ang pangarap na Ginto sa Olympics together with #TeamHD. [Nung] laro kinilig at masaya ako kasi siya mismo nagsabi God is the center of our relationship, kaya walang duda magye-YES ako dahil swerte ako may isang Julius nagmamahal, nag-intindi, at sumuporta sakin.”
Athletes and celebrities alike such as Denden Lazaro-Revilla, Gretchen Ho, and Iza Calzado, among others greeted the newly engaged couple.
No less than weightlifting opened the doors for the relationship of Diaz and Naranjo, her strength and conditioning coach.
The couple of more than three years first met during the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in 2017.
It would be recalled that during Diaz’s winning moment in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Zamboanga native weightlifter ran and jumped towards Naranjo to celebrate the country’s first gold medal in the quadrennial meet.
