Weightlifters in spotlight in ’25 Palaro

LAOAG CITY, Philippines — Weightlifting makes a giant leap – and lift – to hoisting national awareness and hopefully global excellence down the road in a grand return to the 2025 Palarong Pambansa here, four years after delivering the country’s breakthrough Olympic gold medal.

The booming sport, last included in the Palaro during the 80s, found its way back home to join almost 30 events to be played across 40 venues around Ilocos Norte for a glimmer of hope to replicate the momentous feat by Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo in the Tokyo Olympics.

Over 1,700 medals are up for grabs among the 15,000 athletes from 18 regions, with competitions in 3,000-meter run, long jump and javelin throw at 6 a.m. at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium track oval firing off the hostilities.

Either of the three premier athletic events will deliver the coveted first gold in the 65th Palaro edition – the second hosting since 1968 for Ilocos Norte, the home province of President Marcos from Batac City and the first Filipino Olympic medalist (bronze) Teofilo Yldefonso from the town of Piddig.

President Marcos led the opening ceremony on Saturday night while the Ilocano Shark Yldefonso is made the silhouette on the official Palaro logo as a tribute to his incomparable legacy as an Olympian and war hero.

Other events are scattered in different venues around the province dubbed as the “Renewable Energy Capital of Southeast Asia” owing to its wind farms, with focus heavy on the medal-rich events like swimming, gymnastics, arnis and archery, where most of the bemedaled athletes rise.

But the spotlight, more than ever, will also be on weightlifting.