Hidilyn Diaz dominated in the Weightlifting World Cup in Rome, Italy after bagging three gold medals in the women’s 55kg category.

The Olympic silver medalist has lifted 93kg in the snatch and 119kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 212kg,

Ukraine’s Kamila Konotop won two silvers with total lift of 196kg and 90kg lift in the snatch while Russia’s Kristina Novitskaia bagged the silver in clean and jerk with a 109kg lift.

Diaz is aiming to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in July where fourteen lifters per weight category will qualify. Diaz is currently ranked 4th in the 2019 Annual Ranking.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asian Games silver medalist John Fabuar Ceniza bagged the bronze medal in the men’s 61kg category with a total of 269kg: 117kg in the snatch and 152kg in the clean and jerk.—AAC

Tokyo – Giant Olympic rings have been installed on the Tokyo waterfront as a monument adding to the Japanese capital’s urban landscape and atmosphere ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, the capital’s metropolitan government announced on Friday.

The steel symbol of five interlocking rings in blue, yellow, black, green and red stands about 15.3 meters high and 32.6 meters wide on a floating platform at Odaiba Marine Park, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said in a statement.

Odaiba Marine Park will be the venue for the open-water marathon swimming (10 kilometers), as well as the triathlon events.

The huge symbol features a lighting system that will be switched on for the first time on Jan. 24, a date that marks exactly six months before the start of the Tokyo Games, along with a fireworks display in the bay and other events.

After the Olympics, to be held from Jul. 24 to Aug. 9 in Tokyo, the structure will be replaced by the symbol of the Paralympic Games, which will run from Aug. 25 to Sep. 6, according to organizers.

The monument can be seen from Friday in the vicinity of the iconic Rainbow Bridge, one of the most recognizable buildings in the Tokyo Bay landscape, where most of the Olympic venues are located. EFE-EPA

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Team Philippines has securely kept the top spot in the medal tally as the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games ended on Wednesday (December 11).

As of December 10 at 10:00 p.m., the Philippines has collected 149 gold, 117 silver, and 119 bronze, securing a total of 385 medals. The country is set to win the overall championship during the closing ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.

The final day of competition of the #2019SEAGames saw the Philippines officially claiming the title as overall champion of the biennial regional sports event,” according to the 2019 SEA Games’ official Facebook.

Vietnam was able to snare the second spot with 96 golds while Thailand settled for the third spot with 92 golds.

The SEA Games closing ceremony will be held at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium starting at 4:00 p.m.—AAC