The Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation has extended additional funding of P800,000 to Olympic gymnast Carlos Yulo to cover his training expenses in preparation for next year’s Tokyo Games.
The amount will be given to the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and will take care of Yulo’s rent, academic school and support team made up of a physiotherapist, nutritionist and sports psychologist.
Yulo, 19, has been based in Japan since 2016, training under Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya.
“The MVPSF wants to make sure that our athletes still get the best training possible even as we face the current COVID-19 pandemic,” said MVPSF president Al Panlilio in a statement.
Yulo made his presence felt by bagging the bronze medal in the floor exercise of the 2018 world championships in Doha, Qatar.
He rose to prominence by becoming a world champion in 2019 held in Stuttgart, Germany, which also booked him a ticket to the Olympics.
With his accolades, he is currently one of the country’s prospects of winning an Olympic medal in Tokyo.
“Aside from the financial relief from the additional funding, we’re hopeful that this also puts Caloy’s mind at ease because we wanted to show him that we’re behind him all the way,” Panlilio said.