Carlos Yulo made history in the Paris Olympic Games, becoming the first Filipino athlete to win two gold medals at the summer games—a fitting triumph marking the country’s century of participation in the quadrennial meet.
The 24-year-old Yulo achieved this remarkable double gold by winning both the men’s floor exercise and vault, propelling the Philippines to an unprecedented achievement in the history of the quadrennial competition.
Given this groundbreaking accomplishment, Yulo was the obvious choice for the 2024 Athlete of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA), to be handed at their Awards Night on January 27 at the Manila Hotel’s grand ballroom.
Yulo became the first gymnast since young Pia Adelle Reyes in 1997 to be recognized as Athlete of the Year by the country’s oldest media organization in its traditional gala night backed by San Miguel Corporation and co-presented by ArenaPlus, Cignal, and MediaQuest.
Aside from the Athlete of the Year, several awards are also lined up during the formal presentation where the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, PLDT/Smart, Senator Bong Go, and Januarius Holdings serve as major sponsors and with support from the PBA, PVL, 1-Pacman Party List, AcroCity, Rain or Shine, and Akari.
The NSA of the Year, Major Awardees in other sports, President’s Award, Executive of the Year, Citations, Tony Siddayao Awards, as well as the Hall of Fame and Special Recognition to Filipino Olympians – the Paris Olympics and Paralympics included – will be handed out in the event recognizing the best in Philippines sports for the year 2024.
“From a great Olympic performance to an even greater Olympic show, and from one big breakthrough to an even bigger breakthrough – thanks to Carlos Yulo whose giant feat we will celebrate in handling him our highest accolades,” said PSA President Nelson Beltran, sports editor of The Philippine Star, of recognizing the Filipino gymnast with the highest individual honor by the country’s sportswriting community
Yulo’s triumph was a fitting follow up on weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz ending the country’s search for its first Olympic gold during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she triumphed in the women’s 55kg class final in dramatic fashion.
Ironically, it was in the same Japanese capital where the gymnast from Leveriza, Manila had his first taste of Olympic competitions, eventually only qualifying in the men’s vault final and falling short of a podium finish.
Four years later, Yulo was back with vengeance in his eyes.
After a disappointing finish in the floor exercise in the Tokyo Games, Yulo emerged on top of his pet event by compiling a scoring total of 15.000 points, beating reigning champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel (14.966) for the Philippines’ first gold in Paris.
The euphoria of becoming the first Filipino gymnast to win an Olympic gold has yet to die down when Yulo added another mint to his collection by ruling the men’s vault final with a 15.116 total over Arthur Davtyan of Armenia (14.966).
By rewriting history, Yulo lined himself up as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Filipino athletes of all time.
