SPORTS| The 31st SEA Games: Philippine Champion Retain Dominance

The 31st SEA GAMES: Philippine Champions Retain Dominance

Kisly Moira Pera

Hidilyn Diaz and Carlos Yulo bring pride to Filipinos anew as they bring home gold medals from the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Diaz, who bagged the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal in ATokyo last year, ruled this year’s Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in women’s 55-kilogram event on May 20, 2022, managing a record of 92kgs in snatch and 114kgs in clean and jerk, garnering a total of 206kgs lift; 3 kilos beyond Thailand’s Samkun Tanasan who wrapped with a final record of 203kgs lift securing silver. In an interview with Olympics News, the weightlifter described her victory as “The beginning of my journey” as she looks forward to the next Olympic games in France in 2024.

Yulo on the other hand flawlessly surmounted the men’s horizontal bar event on a two-way tie with home bet Dinh Thanh Phuong with a score of 13.867 having both Olympians bring home a gold medal. The gymnast also secured a win in the vault final with a score of 14.700 surpassing Thailand’s Ikumporn Surintornta with 14.250 points and a team member Juancho Basena with 14.017 points. He exhibited an outstanding performance in the floor and ring events, and all-round. He has the most medals at the Games, so far. We can also recall that Yulo bagged a historic gold in 2019 at the World Gymnastics Championship for men’s floor exercise, he was the first male athlete to win a gold medal in the said event.