Hidilyn Diaz becomes first Filipino woman to win an Olympic medal
Hidilyn Diaz just made history by becoming the first Filipino woman to win an Olympic medal.
The 25-year-old Diaz took home the silver medal for the 53kg weightlifting class on Sunday.
Her win is also the country's first Olympic medal in 20 years, since Mansueto Velasco's 1996 silver win for boxing.
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Arianne Cerdeña is the only other woman to win an Olympic medal for the Philippines. She won the gold medal in women's bowling in 1988 in Seoul, but her medal for the demonstration event isn't counted in the tally because bowling isn't an official Olympic sport.
It's not Diaz's first time at the Olympics. Diaz competed at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, where she was in the 58kg category.
She was also the Philippines' flag bearer in 2012.
Diaz is probably out celebrating her momentous win; her social accounts have been quiet for the past few days, although she was tweeting and posting photos in Rio leading up to competition.
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Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
