MANILA: Carlos Yulo (pic) brought immense honour and pride to the Philippines by winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Paris after years of hard work and sacrifice all the while overcoming his personal battles.
More than competing against the top gymnasts in the world, Yulo had his battles off the mat, surrounding his world-class talent with doubts when his first Olympic stint in Tokyo three years ago didn’t end well coupled with his decision to part ways with longtime Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya and bring back his childhood mentor Aldrin Castañeda.
But against all odds, the 24-year-old Yulo immortalised himself in the Olympic history books with a masterful performance in the vault final to add to his floor exercise gold in just 24 hours.
Yulo became the only Filipino to win a pair of Olympic championships and the first to win multiple medals in one Summer Games since 1924.
“All the struggles that brought me down, all the people who didn’t believe in me and put me down—this is for those who truly believed in me,” Yulo told Olympic broadcaster One Sports, offering his second gold medal to the country through the lens of the camera.
Those challenges, including his gruelling Olympic buildup capped by a camp in Metz, brought Yulo all the way up from a failed Tokyo Games stint to a two-time champion in Paris.
“It’s one of the challenges given to me by the Lord, and I know He gave it to me because He knows I can overcome it. I’m super thankful for the challenges He gave me; I draw strength from Him,” said the Filipino dynamo.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself—to adjust, to be content with what I have, and of course, to stay humble in what I do and in my personality.”
Less than 24 hours after ruling the floor exercise with a gold medal-clinching 15.000 points, Yulo admitted he lacked sleep but he came to the vault final, relaxed with nothing to lose and all out.
That’s why Yulo found it hard to wrap his head around what had just transpired following a spellbinding first vault that earned a score of 15.433—one of only two routines with a 6.000 difficulty—and executing a Kasamatsu double twist in his second for 14.800 to finish with an average of 15.116.
Yulo’s double feat single-handedly fulfilled the Team Philippines’ goal to eclipse its previous campaign in Tokyo where the country won its breakthrough gold courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
