Who was the first Filipino to win an Olympic Gold Medal for the Philippines?

Hidilyn Francisco Diaz is a Filipina weightlifter and airwoman, the first Filipino to ever win an Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. She is also an Olympic weightlifting record holder by winning the women's 55 kg category for weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

In her early weightlifting years, she was a bronze medalist in the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand and achieved 10th place at the 2006 Asian Games in the 53-kilogram class. While she was a student and representing Universidad de Zamboanga, she won two golds and one silver in the Asian Youth/Junior Weightlifting Championship held in Jeonju, South Korea. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she was the youngest competitor in the women's 58-kg category.

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Diaz won the silver medal in the women's 53-kg weight division, ending the Philippines' 20-year Olympic medal drought.

On July 26, 2021, Diaz won the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics for the women's 55 kg category for weightlifting, setting Olympic records for the 55 kg division in the clean and jerk at 127 kg and in the total at 224 kg.