CLARK FREEPORT — Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. is partnering with the country’s first Olympic gold medalist to pursue weightlifting in this chartered city starting in the grassroots level.
During Friday’s Balitaan forum of the Capampangan in Media, Inc. (CAMI) in cooperation with the Cark Development Corp. (CDC) at the Bale Balita here, Lazatin said he will put in an initial P2 million for the project starting next year.
Diaz, who originally hails from Zamboanga City, resides in Barangay Margot here which is just outside this freeport’s southeastern perimeter fence.
Lazatin said when Diaz won the silver medal during the 2016 Rio Olympic’s in Brazil, “we gave her a recognition in the city council.” Lazatin said he was just a city councilor then.
“But now that I am the mayor,” Lazatin said, “I will be pursuing weightlifting as a sport starting at the grassroots level with the help of Diaz who agreed to train our coaches so that they in turn can train our athletes in the barangays.”
Lazatin said he sent a Viber message to Diaz upon her arrival from Japan about pursuing a plan to “train our trainors” for which she expressed willingness.
“Alam naman po ninyo kung gaano ko kamahal ang Angeles at Pampanga,” Lazatin said quoting Diaz’s reply.
The mayor said she met Diaz in 2017 after she won a silver medal in Brazil. He added that Diaz had been so kind then to “give us advise on how to lift weights properly.”
Meanwhile, Lazatin gave Diaz P200,000 cash incentive for winning the gold medal in the 55-kilo class category in the women’s weightlifting at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics where she also established a new Olympic record.
Diaz is a sergeant of the Philippine Air Force.
