Global Dominance: Carlos Yulo’s second shot at Olympics

CARLOS Edriel Yulo has established himself as a figure to watch in the gymnastics category at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, making him one of the best bets for the Philippines to win gold. 

The 24-year-old gymnast qualified for the summer games in October 2023 after a strong performance at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Germany. 

Despite dominating every tournament in which Yulo competed, the journey to his second Olympics stint was not as easy as some may believe, making his long-held desire worthy.

Minor setback for a major comeback

Yulo experienced a setback in April 2023, months before securing a spot at the Paris Olympics, when he missed the 2023 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series in Cairo, Egypt. 

The 24-year-old gymnast suffered a left ankle sprain just before flying for the World Cup, preventing him from competing in one of his career’s most important events, but he was wise enough to sit it out first. 

However, Yulo has previously stated that tournaments are about more than merely earning a medal. Sometimes it’s about getting back up after a bad fall and learning from it.

“It’s not always about winning in the competition. It’s all about standing up after that fall,” Yulo stated on an Instagram post back in 2022. 

“To give your all till the dismount, to not give up on what you love, to search for ways to improve and to not lose to yourself in every day training. This is definitely not easy but this is my lifestyle.”

Following that event, Yulo continued on a winning streak at the 2024 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, restoring prestige and glory to the Philippines.

Small but terrible

In some spaces that we visit, the smallest individual has the largest heart. The 4-foot-11 world champion deserves to be recognized because he consistently makes his country proud. 

After experiencing countless ups and downs in his young career, Yulo returned home with numerous medals under his belt following the Asian Championships. 

Yulo earned three gold medals in the event finals for floor exercise, vault, and parallel bars, as well as a silver in the all-around and a bronze on the horizontal bars.

More than this great campaign, Manila native Yulo was a highly decorated gymnast. He is regarded as the most successful gymnast to have ever represented his country. 

He earned two gold medals in the World Asian Gymnastics Championships in 2019 and 2021, five at the 2022 Southeast Asian Games, and three at the Asian Artistics Gymnastics Championships. 

Despite winning multiple medals, his attention is on the forthcoming Paris Games, after he finished empty-handed during the Tokyo Olympics.

Will it be sweeter the second time around?

This year marks the world champion’s second appearance at the Olympics. Yulo was unable to bring home the gold medal on his debut appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, he is fully prepared to compete this year.

“The goal is to get a gold medal in the Paris Olympics,” Yulo told Olympics.com at the Southeast Asian Games in May. 

“It would be good in the individual all-around but it depends. I’m going to do my best in three events – especially floor, vault and parallel bars.”

The Paris Olympics will begin on July 26, with the men’s gymnastics competition starting on July 27, barely a day after the opening. 

Will this be the year Carlos Yulo wins his first gold medal at the Olympics? All questions will be answered once he performs his jaw-dropping stunts.