Carlos Yulo once again brought pride for the country after a scintillating performance at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series these past few weeks. His eyes wore the burning desire to win the moment he launched his compact yet robust frame to the air; the flips and twists evoked elegance, with grace and rhythm coming like a visual delight in a meticulous manner.
This young wonder from Leveriza stood the tallest and made a prominent step to the pantheon of Filipino sporting greats, an exclusive club that is shared by Hidilyn Diaz, EJ Obiena, the legendary Manny Pacquiao, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Paeng Nepomuceno. Yulo, who devoted his time and effort to harness his skill in a sport that is brutally demanding, earned a place in the headlines as of late after a string of brilliant performances which included a haul of two gold medals in the vault and parallel bars events of the four-leg World Cup series that made a stop in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Tokyo Olympian registered 15.400 points to top the parallel bars and beat Ukrainian favorite Illia Kovtun who tallied 15.366 to take the silver medal in the finals. Frenchman Bernard Cameron-Lie settled for bronze with a score of 14.600.
Less than 24 hours after, on Sunday, March 12, the diminutive gymnast returned and delivered instantly in the vault finals, listing an average of 14.933 points to rule the event over Great Britain's Harry Hepworth (14.816) and Hong Kong's Shek Wai-hung (14.716).
In the first leg in Cottbus, Germany, Yulo claimed bronze in parallel bars but improved with a harvest of gold in the floor exercise, silver in the parallel bars, and bronze in the vault in the Doha edition. The tournament will take a break before resuming in Cairo, Egypt on April 27 to 30.
How could we forget his redemption year in 2022 after his misfortunes in the Tokyo Games? He was a force in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games, a head-turner in the Doha Asian Championships, and a dazzler in the Liverpool World Championships.
These achievements truly define Yulo as a rare find in a minefield of potential talents that could be hiding in the corners of this country. He was an unassuming kid that frequented the Rizal Memorial Complex to observe the gymnasts train. Awed and inspired, he would later be the athlete to watch in local and international sports fests. Soon, he would earn a Japanese scholarship to further sharpen his touch under the watchful eyes of renowned coaches. The rest is history, and, indeed, there's no stopping the Filipino champion.
In every routine, Yulo exudes the spirit and movement of a bird, an acrobat, a Spartan, one at a time, or all at once. At par with the sports’ treasures, Yulo is up there, floating, swinging, and above us. But unknowingly, tucked beneath his wings is the dream of an entire nation that offers him well wishes and prayers for his ultimate goal of winning the Olympic gold.
As he embarks on another journey toward the Paris Games, the gymnast has the support of millions of his kababayan.