Until Monday, the Philippines, a sports-mad country of nearly 110 million people, had never won an Olympic gold medal.
But Hidilyn Diaz, a weightlifter at her fourth Olympics, finally broke the Philippines’ nearly century-long drought by capturing a gold in the women’s 55-kilogram division, achieving two Olympic records in the process.
"It’s unbelievable,” she said, caressing the gold medal hanging on her neck. "I expected to win, but when you hold this already, it’s like, Wow, I never thought this would happen today.”