Thousands of stories of personal journeys to surmount the impossible in one’s life floated around the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. Through social media, they turned viral and reached out to the world, bringing much inspiration to people who need a push to hurdle their own impossible situations.
How can anyone not be inspired by the stories of the athletes and para athletes who beat exhaustion, challenged the limits of human boundaries, struggled with lack of support, and for the para athletes – lived with physical disabilities – and competed in the Games, many of them bringing home medals?
A slogan – Start Your Impossible – a global initiative of Toyota, defined many of these stories of victory.
There are 250 athletes from 49 markets, known as the Global Team Toyota Athletes (GTTA) who are under the SYI initiative. They competed in the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics games.
Dual Heroes of Asia
Among them are 11 athletes and para athletes from nine markets – the Dual Heroes from Asia – whose passion for their sport extends to social causes with local communities. Two of them are from the Philippines: Carlos Yulo and Ernie Gawilan.
As Carlos Yulo, winner of two gold medals in gymnastics in the 2024 Olympics, said: “Hindi madali makapunta sa Olympics,” citing his performance in past championships that would qualify him for that. His story is inspirational, starting 17 years ago before he finally clinches not just one, but two golds!
The cameras caught him as he heard his score, he won the gold medal! Hands over his ears, he gives out a shout, then sits on the floor, shedding tears of joy. At that moment “everything I went through came back –ang dinaanan ko before the Olympics, ang training sa Japan, then back in the Philippines where I needed to adjust. Sobrang saya ko po! Nagpasalamat ako kay Lord; hindi ako makapaniwala na si Lord binigay yan sa akin (what I went through before the Olympics. I was so happy! I thanked the Lord and I could not believe that he gave me that),” he said in an interview at the Shangrila Paris on Sept. 6.
Because of this, Yulo wants to give back to the community. He has identified his advocacy as food security, especially for children, and setting up a gymnastics clinic where he could extend his knowledge to help children learn gymnastics.
Paralympian swimmer Ernie Gawilan, born with underdeveloped extremities, has won over his impossible: He has competed in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and won gold in the ASEAN Paralympic Games in Indonesia in 2022, and in the same games in Cambodia in 2023. At the 2024 Paris Paralymics, he ranked sixth in the 400-meter freestyle S7 finals.
Ernie’s “social impossible” is for conserving the coastal waters, starting with the one where he swam every day in Samal Island, Davao. His concern came from seeing the many plastic packaging of snack foods under the sea water.
In 2019, Ernie’s advocacy led to a coastal cleanup operation which involved 1,900 volunteers, including former Toyota Motor Philippines President Satoru Suzuki, employees, staff from the dealership network, and locals from the communities. The cleanup collected 1,200 sacks of waste. On the same day, the volunteers planted 40,000 mangrove propagules to prevent erosion.
From slogan to feats
Stories like Yulo’s and Gawilan’s – and thousand others – reflect the spirit of the “Start Your Impossible” initiative. Since its launch in 2018, SYI was inspired by the idea that everyone has an ‘impossible’ - a personal goal or dream that always seems to be out of reach.
At the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, “Start Your Impossible” jumped from slogan to feats of the human spirit – to inspiration!
Already, Toyota has started work on establishing legacies of the athletes, to continue the SYI spirit. This is the Dual Heroes in Asia, each of them displaying a passion for their sport, and a social conscience to contribute to the community.
A legacy for the athlete
Hao Q. Tien, president of Toyota Motor Asia (Singapore), who conceptualized the Dual Heroes project, explained, picking Gawilan and his advocacy as an example: “The power of SYI will not end after Ernie and other athletes retire. Ernie said he wants to clean the coast, and he’s done that. After he retires, what he’s doing will keep on going, someone will continue it. That’s the legacy that Ernie has earned.”
“Ernie should be remembered even after competing. You compete and you pass on a legacy. That is very important. I want to continue the Dual Heroes,” he said.
Toyota supports Paralympics
Toyota’s support for the Paralympics started with Mr. Hao. In 2017, when he was informed that Toyota would be a sponsor in the Tokyo Olympics, Mr. Hao went around and talked to national Olympic and Paralympic committees of many countries. What he discovered was that para athletes had “very low funding.” Some countries did not even have funds for equipment for basic training of para athletes.
In the Philippines, he said he met a visually-impaired para athlete who he asked how Toyota could help them. His reply: “Help us to bring our people to a training facility,” for they had no means of transportation.
“After that I said, we put our money into the Paralympics because they need help,” he said.
Mr. Hao’s ‘impossibles’
Mr. Hao has hurdled his impossible – starting a legacy for the Dual Heroes of Asia, so their good work for the communities continue after the athletes retire. And he has channeled funding to where it is needed most – to the para athletes who are training to achieve what seems to be their impossible.
The spirit of “Start Your Impossible” lives on!