Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz gave a glimpse of her weightlifting class at the University of the Philippines Diliman as she stepped into her new role teaching the “Iskolars ng Bayan.”
On March 12, Hidilyn shared photos of herself instructing college students in her sport, serving as a lecturer for two Physical Education sections in weightlifting for the second semester of UP’s Academic Year 2025-2026.
“I said YES to the calling to serve our nation through teaching weightlifting in UP CHK [College of Human Kinetics]. I hope weightlifting will be understood and loved by many Filipinos,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
“Thank you, @updchksc, for giving me the opportunity to teach weightlifting in UP and to @phil.sportscommission [Philippine Sports Commission] in the leadership of Chairman Pato for donating weightlifting equipment to UP for my PE weightlifting class,” Hidilyn added.
Hidilyn first began teaching on January 21. Photos from her first day in the classroom were previously shared by the student publication Tinig ng Plaridel.
The weightlifter previously said it “has always been a dream” of hers to design a curriculum that promotes and spreads awareness of weightlifting.
“I want to educate more people para mas maraming makaintindi ng weightlifting, kasi ang weightlifting ay regular event na sa Palarong Pambansa,” she previously shared.
The athlete added that she wanted “to keep learning” by sharing the sport she loves. She also said she hopes to integrate weightlifting into a broader Philippine sports education, fostering creativity and efficiency in her new learning environment.
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Hidilyn made history in Philippine sports as the first Filipino, and first Pinay, to win an Olympic gold medal, accomplishing the feat at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
