CWA hopes to mold next olympian

PROJECT NEXT.  The Cebu Weightlifting Association hopes to hone the next lifter to a in the footsteps of Hidilyn Diaz, who won an Olympic silver and an Asian Games gold medal. (SunStar file photo)
PROJECT NEXT. The Cebu Weightlifting Association hopes to hone the next lifter to a in the footsteps of Hidilyn Diaz, who won an Olympic silver and an Asian Games gold medal. (SunStar file photo)

THE Cebu Weightlifting Association (CWA) is aiming for nothing less than the Olympics when it launches its grassroots program at two schools in Cebu.

CWA president Felix Tiukinhoy said their group has started its program at the SMS Boystown and is looking to start a similar program at SMS Girlstown, which has double the population of Boystown at 6,000.

“I was told that the right age to develop the kids is 8 to 13. So this is the perfect time to start and we are aiming for the 2024 Olympics, or if not, the next Olympics in 2028,” said Tiukinhoy.

The kids who start training under the CWA now would be between 16 to 25 in the France 2024 and 20 to 29 in the next Olympics. Hidilyn Diaz, who single-handedly lifted the reputation of the sport in the country with twin victories in the Olympics and Asian Games, was 17 in her first Olympic stint in Beijing. She also joined London at 21 and ended the country’s 16-year medal drought in Rio at 25 in 2016.

To get started, CWA plans to tap Diaz’s Chinese coach, Kaiwen Gao, to conduct a seminar in Cebu. They also plan to tap another foreign coach to train local coaches.

“We’ve talked with Hidilyn, that we will bring her coach here in Cebu to conduct training. Maybe after her competition in November,” said Tiukinhoy. “We’ve also been in contact with two foreign coaches—a Korean and a Malaysian—to come over and conduct training. In fact, (CWA sec-gen) Judith Sulla will go to Thailand on Oct. 15 to 18 to join a seminar and also to talk to them,” said Tiukinhoy.

Tiukinhoy said CWA plans to tap private sponsors to help sustain their long-term program. Diaz is also receptive of the program and has supported it financially.

“We also plan to get in touch with big companies so they can help support the weightlifters in our program,” said Tiukinhoy.

Meanwhile, the CWA is hoping that the issue of which group should be recognized as the rightful national sport association for weightlifting will be resolved soon with help from the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Tiukinhoy said he met with Philippine Weightlifting Association (PWA) vice president Elbert Atillano recently and was told the group is paying its past dues with the Securities and Exchange Commission and also its back taxes.

“When all of that is done, he will then call for elections. And the elections should be superivsed by the POC,” said Tiukinhoy, who was a member of the board of the PWA. “I, along with Atillano and sec-gen Dioscoro Himotas, are the only officers left of the PWA.”

He said Monico Puentevella, the former PWA official who started the Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP), is welcome to join the PWA elections.

The SWP was granted provisional recognition by the POC so as not to jeopardize Diaz’s bid in the Olympic qualifiers since it was the group that got recognized by the International Weightlifting Federation.

“Monico went straight to the IWF and told them that the SWP is the recognized NSA in the Philippines. They (IWF) gave him recognition without confirming with the POC,” said Tiukinhoy.

Last April, the POC told Puentevella that it could not delist SWP on his request as the officials under their records were those allied with the PWA. But last month, the group got a provisional recognition. (MTL)

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