Filipino Olympian Carlos “Caloy” Edriel Yulo has gifted his motherland, the Philippines, with historic double Olympic Gold Medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics, solidifying his dominance in gymnastics. Yulo, a two-time World Champion, achieved these victories in the Men’s Floor Exercise and Vault events.
SEE: Carlos Yulo Sets Sights on Multiple Medals for Philippines at Paris Olympics Finals
CHECK: RESULTS & SCHEDULES: Team Philippines Medal Hunt at Paris Olympics
The new reigning Olympics champion athlete in Men’s Floor Exercise and Vault was a 19-year-old teenager in 2019 when he triumphed in the floor exercise to become the first Filipino to win the gold medal at the International Gymnastics Federation Artistic Gymnastics World Championships (FIG Worlds) during the 49th edition in Germany. Two years later, Yulo paired up his championship medals with a back-to-back golden victory in the vault apparatus at the 2021 FIG Worlds in Japan.
Now at 24 years old, the history-making gymnast from Malate, Manila, has another pair of gold medals won before a bigger audience at the 33rd Olympics in France as he became an Olympic champion two successive times over the weekend.
Yulo now adds to his credentials these historic milestones for himself and the Philippines:
- 1st Gold and Medal for the Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics
- 1st Gold and Medal for a Filipino gymnast in 100 years of the Olympics
- 1st Gold Medal for a Filipino male in a century of Philippine participation.
Emotional Win and Historic First Gold Medal
Caloy Yulo broke down in tears, along with Filipinos around the world watching the Olympics live in Paris or on livestream, as he was declared the winner of the Individual Men’s Floor Exercise event on August 3, 2024, at the Bercy Arena.
He was still teary-eyed but beamed with Filipino pride as the ‘Lupang Hinirang’, the Philippine national anthem, was played for the victor only for the second time in the Olympics following Filipino women’s boxing Olympian Hidilyn Diaz who delivered the nation’s first-ever gold medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Yulo topped the 8-man field of finalists after scoring a solid 15.00 points from a routine with a 6.6 Difficulty Value and an Execution score of 8.4, “the highest on Floor Exercise at these Olympic Games” noted a FIG report that paid tribute to “Yulo’s beautiful tumbling” and “six fantastic runs and his 3.5 twist dismount.” “He stuck his three-and-a-half twist dismount cold,” reported the Olympics.
“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m feeling grateful for having this medal and for God. He protected me, as always,” Yulo said after the medal ceremony. “He gave me the strength to get through this kind of performance and perform this well.”
“I’m grateful for the people who really supported me. I could not do it without them…I really wanted to achieve this,” he added.
Tokyo 2020 champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel took the silver (14.966), and Great Britain’s Jake Jarman (14.933) claimed the bronze medal.
Multiple Golds in a Single Olympics
On August 4, 2024, still fresh from his gold medal victory the day before, Yulo took to the Men’s Individual Vault Finals with a decisive first vault – a piked Dragulescu – carrying a Difficulty Value of 6.000, an Execution of 9.433, and a result of 15.433 points which established his lead in the 8-man field of finalists.
The Filipino gymnast’s second vault carried a 5.600 difficulty, a 9.200 execution, and a score of 14.800 which is lower than three other competitors’ second vaults. But his average score of 15.166 points sealed the deal on Yulo’s second gold medal at the Paris Summer Games.
“Yulo used a combination of difficulty… and precision to earn a 15.116 average score,” observed the Olympics report.
“I’m grateful for the people who truly believed in me through the ups and downs,” Yulo said of his victories. “This one is the sweetest, I think.”
“I was just hoping to perform well (today). I didn’t really expect a medal. It really felt like a bonus for me,” he shared.
Armenia’s Artur Davtyan claimed the silver with a score of 14.966 and Great Britain’s Harry Hepworth settled for bronze with a score of 14.949.
Yulo topped the 8-man field of finalists with a score of 15.00 points from a routine with a 6.6 Difficulty Value and an Execution of 8.4, the highest score on Men’s Floor Exercise at the #2024Olympics. pic.twitter.com/XHZt81LDzW
— Angie Quadra Balibay (@AngieQBalibay) August 6, 2024
Overcoming Challenges to Achieve His Dream Medal
Carlos Yulo has achieved his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal – with a bonus second gold, 17 years after he started training and receiving support from the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) and its President, Cynthia Carrion. His journey saw him overcome his professional and personal struggles on his way to becoming a two-time Olympic Champion.
Yulo was in Japan training with Japanese head coach Munehiro Kugimiya from 2016 until 2023, the period when he won his double golds from the FIG Worlds and his heartbreak during the Tokyo Olympics.
He almost missed qualifying for Paris at last year’s World Championships after a count of 0.000 on the vault in the preliminaries. He eventually earned his ticket as the highest-ranked eligible athlete in Men’s Floor Exercise.
Last year, Yulo decided to return to the Philippines and called back his former junior coach Aldrin Castaneda to assist him. His Filipino coach and GAP President Carrion, whom Yulo regards as a parent, are with him in France and have been with him in the past year’s preparation for the Paris Olympics when Yulo continued even more challenging training in various overseas gyms.
The Philippines is preparing a hero’s welcome for Carlos Yulo, the gymnast who brought pride to the nation with his double Olympic golds.
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