Hidilyn leads aspirants for PSA’S 2022 Athlete of the Year trophy

HIDILYN DIAZ-NARANJO leads a top-heavy list of nominees each of whom were vetted by members of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) for the organization’s 2022 Annual Awards Night in March.

Diaz-naranjo swept the gold medals staked in women’s 55 kgs class of weightlifting at the world championships in Bogota, Colombia, making her a favorite to hoist a second consecutive Athlete of the Year trophy from 2021 when she won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.

But breathing down the 31-yearold Diaz-naranjo’s neck are her fellow Tokyo Olympians—former world gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo and world No. 3 men’s pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena— for the PSA’S top award.

Also in the mix are US Open girls’ champion Alex Eala and the national women’s football team known as the Filipinas.

The country’s oldest media organization will stage the San Miguel CORP.-PSA Awards Night on March 6 at the Diamond Hotel in Manila.

The Awards Night is also presented by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, International Container Terminal Services Inc., 1Pacman, Rain or Shine and Okbet.

Also to be given out are the President’s Award, Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement Award, National Sports Association of the Year, Executive of the Year, Mr. Basketball, Ms. Football, Major Awards, Tony Siddayao Awards, Pioneers/founders Awards, Lifetime Award in Sports Journalism and the traditional Citations.

The Filipinas set in motion the country’s 2022 campaign on a high note by punching a historic ticket for a first-ever stint in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their third-place at the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup in Pune, India, last February earned them a berth to the World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia in July.

Yulo won three gold medals at the 9th Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Doha and clinched a silver and a bronze at the world artistic gymnastics championships in Liverpool, England.

Obiena, 27, captured a historic bronze medal at the world athletics championships in Oregon with a new Asian men’s pole vault record of 5.94 meters. He’s now ranked No. 3 in the world.