A year after his Olympic golds at Paris 2024, Filipinos look back on gymnast Carlos Yulo’s historic triumph.
Aug. 3, 2024, marks the day the artistic gymnast won the Philippines’ second-ever Olympic gold medal since the country began participating in the Games in 1924.
On that date, Carlos won the men’s floor exercise in artistic gymnastics at Paris 2024, delivering a “powerful, clean routine” that beat Tokyo champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel by just 0.034 points.
At that time, the Filipino gymnast was driven by a strong desire for redemption after narrowly missing a medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, where weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz made history by bagging the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal.
On Aug. 4, 2024, Carlos secured another gold medal for the Philippines by winning the men’s vault final.
His double victory made him the first Filipino to win two Olympic gold medals and the first male Filipino to ever win gold at the Games.
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Carlos’ historic feat was remembered by Filipinos one year later, as they looked back on the moment and shared how the pivotal event affected them.
On this day a year ago, Carlos Yulo won his first Gold medal during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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“Sobrang sayang ‘yung historic win niya, nabahiran ng gulo sa pamilya. Gulo kasi nung nanay eh,” a Redditor commented.
“Tapos biglang umepal ‘yung pamilya kaya hindi rin niya na-enjoy ‘yung panalo niya, lol. He won not only [one], but two golds in f**k*ng Olympics, pero mas tumatak pa ‘yung kagaspangan ng ugali ng pamilya niya at ‘yung mga ‘nanay mo pa rin ‘yan’ sa FB,” another Reddit user said.
Carlos previously expressed hope that his mother, Angelica Yulo, would “heal” and “move on” after she blamed his girlfriend, Chloe San Jose, for their strained family relationship following his Olympic wins.
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Meanwhile, other Filipinos hope the gymnastics sensation will continue to bring honor to the country, even a year after his historic victories.
“Road to 2028 L.A.O.,” a Pinoy on Facebook wrote, referring to the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.
Last June, Carlos expressed hope to compete with his younger brother, Karl Eldrew Yulo, in the next edition of the Games.
Karl is also making waves in the world of gymnastics, receiving an Olympic Solidarity scholarship from the International Olympic Committee, the same support Carlos received back in 2017.
“I’m happy for my brother. My wish is for him to learn many things, be always safe, and for us to become teammates in 2028 and compete in the individual all-around,” the double gold Olympic medalist previously.
Prior to Paris 2024, Carlos won gold and silver medals at the 2021 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, making him the first Pinoy to have obtained more than one medal at the world championships in a single staging of the tournament.
