Greatness knows no bounds for Carlos Yulo

Our golden boy Carlos Yulo made history on Sunday, Aug. 4, by winning the men’s vault final in artistic gymnastics, close to 24 hours after dominating the floor exercise in the Paris Olympics. The 24-year-old gymnast is an Olympic champion twice over.

His victory in the floor exercise and vault cemented his status as the greatest Filipino Olympian, thus far, and brought immense pride to the Philippines. Consider what our second Olympic champion achieved during a weekend that will be remembered forever. He has four “firsts”: He is the first Filipino athlete to win two gold medals in the Olympics, and the first Filipino to achieve that feat in a single Olympics. He has also secured the first Olympic medal for the country in artistic gymnastics and is the first male Philippine athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.

The distinction of being the first Olympic gold medalist for the Philippines will always belong to Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo. Yulo’s Olympic story follows Diaz’s success story. Diaz ended the Olympic gold drought by winning the women’s 55-kilogram category in weightlifting, opening the way for other Filipino Olympians to follow suit, and this cohort included Yulo. After Diaz won, Yulo asked to hold Hidilyn’s medal, perhaps long enough to internalize the mindset of an Olympic great. She thus inspired him to overcome his disappointing performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

It’s no surprise that Diaz was among the first to congratulate Yulo this time around. “I’m proud of you. Enjoy the fruits of your hard work. Always give back to God and the country because all our success is not just for ourselves,” she wrote in an Instagram post accompanied by a photo of her and Yulo during the Tokyo Olympics.

The international press got caught up in the frenzy over Yulo’s double gold medal, with the official Paris Olympics media statement partly titled “A lifetime supply of chicken” for the double Olympic champion. BBC’s story carried the headline: “Paris 2024 Olympics: Cash, condo, and ramen for Philippine gymnast.”

The euphoria over Yulo’s historic wins has not eclipsed the Aug. 1 debacle during the men’s all-around gymnastics final, when Yulo fell from the pommel horse apparatus while about to dismount. Despite his poor performance, he accepted the outcome, satisfied that he had exerted his best effort.

Champion’s mindset. Yulo, who has won two world championships and 10 Asian championships, shared his thoughts on making mistakes and learning from them. “[I] maintain a positive attitude. Nothing will happen if I get frustrated. I may have committed mistakes, but I learned a lot from them. I’m so happy to join the finals of all-around,” Yulo told One Sports, stressing that although he finished 12th overall, that was a “big jump” from his subpar performance at the Tokyo Olympics. He was “happy” with his injury-free performance and even celebrated the victory of his former Japanese teammate, Oka Shinnosuke, who won gold in all-around gymnastics.

Yulo’s journey to Olympic greatness was characterized by two outstanding qualities: his humility in both defeat and victory, and his strong belief in God. “It’s all God,” he kept telling himself while on the podium wearing the second gold medal.

Despite his short stature, he stands taller than anyone else at the highest level of gymnastics, and triumphs with grace and true grit. And there lies the irony. In a basketball-crazed country where height is might, Yulo stands out as a class of his own, an epitome of strength in weakness.

Yulo, who grew up in Malate, Manila, came from humble beginnings. But those who achieve Olympic greatness start at a young age. Yulo’s love for gymnastics started when he was seven and began practicing in the decrepit public gymnasium at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Back then, that was all that the country offered a poor boy who, nonetheless, dreamed of greatness against all odds. He conquered the difficulties he was born into, using only sheer determination, discipline, and consistency. It was his grandfather, Rodrigo Frisco, who took him to the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines for formal training. And the rest is history.

Today, Yulo is the embodiment of the never-say-die attitude of millions of our fellow Filipinos who persevere in this graft-infested country, and those who tirelessly work abroad because giving up is not an option. He dusts himself off and rises again, both in life and gymnastics.

For Yulo, there is nowhere to go but up. This thinking propelled him to Olympic glory, overcoming the 3Ps that weigh our athletes down: poverty, politics, and the perennially inadequate support for Filipino athletes. Yulo’s perseverance is a thread that binds together the millions of Filipinos who watch the Olympics at home, and it’s a mindset that we should cultivate to elevate our level of excellence.

Yulo not only ruled the Olympic men’s vault and floor exercise finals but also won our hearts. Nothing short of a hero’s welcome awaits him in Manila.

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For comments: mubac@inquirer.com.ph