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‘Lift Like A Girl:’ Filipino Tokyo Olympic Medalists Break Records And Gender Roles On The World Stage

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Lift like a girl? Punch like a girl? Oh hell yes, please.

Not only are our Filipino Tokyo Olympic medalists breaking records left and right but they’re also smashing gender stereotypes in sports and inspiring a whole new generation of athletes to keep chasing their dreams regardless of their gender.

In a country like the Philippines, gender stereotypes are deeply ingrained in the culture especially in sports. Boys are expected to take up basketball and boxing while girls are told to take up ballet or volleyball. When boys or girls go into sports that are perceived as the sport of the other sex, you’d often see people raising eyebrows or hear them uttering sexist remarks. It’s sad to see and often angering but the good news is things are changing. It’s slow, yes, and it’s a steep uphill climb but it’s happening. Particularly in this year’s Tokyo Olympics, our Filipino Tokyo Olympic medalists proved that gender doesn’t have anything to do with winning medals.

Filipino Tokyo Olympic Medalists Break Through Gender Stereotypes

Sports is one area where gender stereotypes are still quite prevalent. Even in worldwide events such as the Olympics, it’s pretty obvious.

Take boxing for instance. It’s seen as a man’s sport since it’s believed they’re tougher and can take more punches. Yes, we do have women’s boxing but the set of rules governing the sport in the Olympics still gives off that stereotype.

See, starting in the Rio Olympics in 2016, male boxers were allowed to forego the headgear. Female boxers weren’t. The decision was based on a study conducted by the International Boxing Association that showed boxers wearing headgears were more likely to get head injuries. The reason the decision didn’t include the female category was that the data didn’t include female boxers.

Despite that, Filipina featherweight boxer Nesthy Petecio proved that women can excel in the sport as well. She won silver in the women’s featherweight final on August 2 after defeating Japanese athlete Sena Irie in a unanimous decision.

The athlete from Davao del Sur has had her family’s full support all throughout her journey. She has also been trained since a young age by her boxer father along with her siblings as a way to defend themselves.

In addition to her Olympic silver, Petecio bagged two gold medals in the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Russia and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines.

Carlos Yulo, on the other hand, proved himself in artistic gymnastics, a sport commonly regarded as a woman’s sport given that it requires skill and grace, two attributes often thought of as female traits. Interestingly, gymnastics was originally reserved for men. It was only in 1928 when women were allowed to compete in the sport. There’s also quite a disparity when it comes to men’s and women’s individual floor exercises. While women flip, leap, and tumble to music, men do their routines in complete silence.

Yulo proved he had just the skill and grace needed to win. Against 11 other gymnasts, Yulo finished 4th on Tuesday’s final round of the men’s vault event. Before that, Yulo bagged nine international medals. These include winning gold in the all-around and floor exercise categories at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and in the floor exercise category at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Germany.

Then, there’s Margielyn Didal, the skateboarding champ of the country. She made her Olympic debut in the women’s street skateboarding category. Coincidentally, it’s also the first time skateboarding has become part of the Olympics and separate categories were immediately set for men and women. The sport has always been male-dominated, however, women have been proving that they can grove in those wheels just as well as men and have also distinguished themselves in the sport.

Although Didal ended up in 7th place in her finals, she did end up winning the hearts of fans from all over the world. Her cheerful nature and her fierce support for her competitors earned her their massive admiration.

Last but not least, how can we forget Hidilyn Diaz? This girl gave new life to the phrase “lift like a girl” especially for us Filipinos. Standing at only 4’11”, Diaz lifted a total of 224 kg in the Olympics (97 kg in the snatch and 127 kg in the clean and jerk). For context, her final massive lift of 127 kg is almost equivalent to the weight of a male adult giant panda. With this, she not only won the country its first Olympic gold but she also set a world record with her 127 kg lift.

Paving The Way For Future Generations

Although the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was declared as the first-ever gender-equal Olympics Games, the sports world still has a long way to go to achieve true gender equality. These four Filipino Tokyo Olympic medalists, however, have already started paving the way for future generations of aspiring Olympic medalists in the Philippines. As proven by their stories, they have jumped through countless hurdles including harsh criticism pertaining to their gender and chosen sport but they have not let it stop them. They remained true to their dreams and true to their nature as athletes. Our only hope is that younger athletes follow in the footsteps of these Filipino Tokyo Olympic medalists to continue breaking such barriers.

The post ‘Lift Like A Girl:’ Filipino Tokyo Olympic Medalists Break Records And Gender Roles On The World Stage appeared first on Pilipinas Popcorn.


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