The Road to Two Golds: Carlos Yulo’s Epic Olympic Journey

In 1924, the Philippines sent a single athlete to compete in the Summer Olympics. It was the first time the country participated in the world’s biggest athletic event. A hundred years have passed since, and this time at the Paris 2024 Olympics, millions of Filipinos cheer for not one, but 24 homegrown athletes showcasing strength, patriotism, and vitality. Leading the pack is none other than Carlos Yulo, the history-making gymnast on everyone’s minds. The dedicated athlete not only defied gravity with his impeccable routines but also won against the odds by becoming the Philippines’ first-ever double gold medal Olympian. 

The 24-year-old bested seasoned opponents in two out of four gymnastic categories, earning him top recognition in the Men’s Floor - Artistic Gymnastics and Men’s Vault - Artistic Gymnastics events. His big wins officially make him the Philippines’ first male and first gymnast gold medalist, and more impressively, first double gold medalist. 

Joining a nation still on a high over this epic win, we look back at the highlights of Carlos’ journey to the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

2021

In case you’ve forgotten, Carlos made his Olympic debut at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 but ended the competition without a medal. Despite being the reigning world champion in the sport at the time, he failed to advance in the floor exercise category due to errors made in the qualifying rounds and finished in 4th place in the vault category. He claimed that his biggest realization was to stay focused and that his biggest competition was himself.

In assessing his shortcomings, a younger Carlos shared his wishes and plans for himself the next time he goes head-to-head with the world’s best gymnasts. He said, “’Yung maging confident po. Before po ang liit gumalaw. I-e-embrace ko po ngayon kung ano ginawa ko sa training, mga pinaghirapan ko. I-show ko confident ako sa pinractice ko. (I [learned] to be more confident. Before I would move so small. Now I need to embrace what I did in training, everything I worked hard for. I need to show I’m confident in what I practiced).”

2022-2023

Carlos continued to compete in regional and international gymnastic events, determined to make a strong Olympic comeback and hone his skills in the process. Earning several accolades during this period, Carlos’ performances still suffered from inconsistencies. Experts noted that Carlos was something of a wild card in competitions—sometimes the obvious winner displaying expertise and control, other times, needing a bit of luck to place. If he were to make it to the Paris Olympics, Carlos needed to step up his game. His then-coach Munehiro Kugimiya worked with him to overhaul his training routine to address his weak points. 

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Carlos said, “Bibigay ko po lahat ng kaya kong gawin and ’yung best ko. Bonus na lang po kung maka-gold medal ako. Pero siyempre gusto ko talagang makapag-produce ng ganung resulta. Siyempre kasama po ’yun sa dream ko po as an athlete, as a person. Ibibigay ko po lahat.”

October 2023, World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

The 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Belgium was Carlos’ single ticket to the Olympics. Making a quota score at this event would secure him a slot in the Paris games. 

Hoping to impress judges with a display of creativity and expertise during the vault event, Carlos made what could have been a death strike to his Olympic dreams. He made a gigantic miscalculation that led him to fall flat on his back during his routine, earning him a score of 0.000. However, in what was a nail-biting save, Carlos earned top marks in the floor exercise and parallel bars events that averaged his overall score—wins that earned him an Olympic berth. 

January 2024, pre-Paris planning

Staying true to his word, Carlos dedicated his time and energy to improving both his mental and physical states on his road to gold at the start of the year. This time, his strategy was to work on a winning combination of strength, stamina, and difficulty under the guidance of head coach Aldrin Castaneda and Gymnastics Association President Cynthia Carrion. Carlos mostly stayed in Manila to prepare for the Paris Olympics but continued to travel abroad to learn from the gymnastics world’s best. He visited Korea, Spain, and Australia to participate in training camps while also competing at the World Cup in Doha and Baku and the Asian Championships.

One of his goals at this stage of his training was to meet his own standards of success. If he could confidently say his execution was Olympics-ready, then, a medal finish would be within reach.

“Susunod naman talaga ’yung medal ko dun sa magiging performance ko so dun ako naka-base. Kung maganda performance ko, kung happy ako sa performance ko, ’yung standard na pinut ko sa sarili ko, ’pag na-reach ko ’yun, contender na ’yun for gold,” he shared.

May 2024

Three months before the 2024 Olympics, Carlos was already adding the finishing touches to his routines. He picked out the vault and floor exercises as his best bets in winning gold and worked hardest to improve his landings. While in the last stages of his Olympic training, Carlos also won three gold medals at the 2024 Asian Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships, making him the overall winner in the men’s division. It laid down a solid foundation for his Olympic journey that was gaining speed.

Reflecting on yet another gymnastic feat under his belt, Carlos penned an Instagram post, saying, “I am looking forward to continuing to work hard, push myself to new limits, and see how far more we can achieve. I am so blessed and thankful for this moment and I can’t wait to see what other surprises the universe has for me. Thank you Lord God, always.”

July 2024

Carlos and his team arrived in Paris with just a few days to settle down before the gymnastics events. In the 2020 Olympics, Carlos was the lone gymnast to compete in Tokyo. This time, he was accompanied by three other gymnasts—Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar—competing in the women’s division. 

August 3, 2024

Carlos was slated to compete at the men’s floor exercise event against some of the top performers in the sport, including Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat who bagged the gold in the same event in the 2020 Olympics. Carlos was also up against newcomer Jake Jarman, a Filipino-British gymnast representing Great Britain, who came out on top in the apparatus qualifiers. The stakes were the highest they’d ever been. 

Carlos was the third to perform at the event and watched five more competitors finish their routines. With all the contenders’ scores flashed on the screen, he realized in a matter of seconds that he had won gold.

He earned a historic score of 15.000, with the silver medalist coming in at 14.966 and bronze at 14.933. Carlos’ routine’s difficulty and polished execution formed the recipe for success. “I just went for it, I didn't hesitate,” he said when asked for his technique that led him to victory.

August 4, 2024

Fueled by an impressive win and having found validation for his efforts to prove himself, Carlos entered the vault competition with focused confidence. Considered one of his specialties, the vault event was anticipated to be one of his best performances—and he delivered. Carlos scored even higher than the day before. He ended with 15.116, besting the silver (Artur Davtyan of Armenia) and bronze (Harry Hepworth of Great Britain) medalists with scores of 14.966 and 14.949. 

The day ended with a massive triumph for Carlos and the Philippines. His two golds in two days will not be forgotten, and it is a testament to what the Filipino athlete can achieve with a winning mindset and sufficient support. 

According to Carlos himself, his second gold was simply a bonus. Satisfied with winning big in the floor exercise, his reign in the vault competition was the cherry on the cake he wasn’t expecting. Carlos’ golds were the first medals for the Philippines at the Paris Olympics. They were followed with a bronze won by female boxing bet Aira Villegas who competed in the 50kg category. 

Filipinos watching live and on their screens celebrated Carlos’ historic wins and looking forward to throwing the athlete a hero’s welcome upon his return home to the country. Still in Paris, Carlos is savoring his wins and exploring the city with fellow Pinoy athletes. 

Asked what his plans are now that he’s made a name for himself in Philippine sports history, the athlete at the peak of his career answered, “I’m not going to be an athlete forever. I have to take care of my personal life also, and balance it. And of course, share it [my winnings] sa mga batang gustong mag-gymnastics.” 

Carlos started his gymnastics journey as a casual participant in children’s gymnastics training sessions at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. He was eight years old when he first stepped onto the mat and was introduced to the sport’s fundamentals. Like the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold medalist Hidylin Diaz, Carlos hopes to inspire young athletes in the country to pursue their dreams. 

Lead photos from @adidasph and @figymnastics via @c_edrielzxs