The Olympic Gold—once an elusive dream for the Philippines, became a reality in 2021 and was recently repeated twice, as if telling all of us that: Yes, we are capable of world excellence. Thanks to Carlos Edriel Yulo, who boosted not only the pride of Filipinos but also the morale of many young athletes hoping to conquer the world.
When we had our first Olympic gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics courtesy of Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the whole Philippines was hoping for another golden victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which also marks the country’s centennial participation in the Summer Games.
And Yulo, the Filipino top-class gymnast, delivered not only one, but two Olympic gold medals in just one weekend, after he outclassed the best of the best in the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics’ floor exercise and vault events.
It was truly a proud moment to see a Filipino climb at the top of the Olympic Games’ podium and hear the Philippine National Anthem two days in a row.
Yulo is now a hero and an inspiration to many Filipinos, especially our athletes who also aspire to reach the Olympic arena. But his story is not one without hurdles.
Filipinos are familiar with the struggles of Yulo during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, when he was among the athletes who was expected to deliver. At that time, he was already a decorated gymnast, achieving gold medals at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships’ floor exercise, at the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics Melbourne World Cup’s floor exercise, as well as several gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 editions of the Southeast Asian Games. He has also achieved silver and bronze wins in many other international competitions. And so it was a surprise that he went home without a medal from Tokyo.
Probably, the Tokyo Olympics was the experience that Yulo needed so he can truly reflect on what he had to do, not only for the improvement of his craft, but also for himself. Many other challenges came his way, including during the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium where he fell flat on his back twice.
Now, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Yulo not only redeemed himself, but also ensured that his name will be forever etched in the history of the Philippines—the first Filipino male who earned an OIympic gold, the first Filipino to win two gold medals in a single Olympic series, among many other firsts. To date, he is the most successful Filipino gymnast.
Yulo’s back-to-back podium finish is being celebrated by Filipinos all over the world. Aside from the millions of prizes that he is guaranteed to receive, a hero’s welcome awaits him upon his return to the Philippines.
But we hope that as the celebratory mood subsides, we can shift our focus to the many other athletes waiting to be discovered, trained, and polished through a national sports development program that will encourage more Filipinos to see sports as a serious career and not merely an extra-curricular activity.
It is time to really look at the sports where we can excel, where we have competitive edge, so we can guide our young athletes toward those paths. Yulo’s feat will be hard to surpass, but it is not impossible. Let us allow our athletes the chance to dream big and give the support they need to achieve it.
But for now, let us savor this precious golden moment courtesy of our double Olympic champion, Carlos Yulo.
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