PARIS – Amazing. Incredible. Magnificent. And even unprecedented.

Almost all the superlatives have been used to describe the immortalization of gymnast Carlos Yulo as arguably the greatest Filipino Olympian ever.

Two gold medals in as many days in the Paris Olympics spelled the difference for no Filipino athlete has produced two glorious nights of incredible athleticism since the country first competed in the lovely French capital 100 years ago.

That’s because Yulo is blessed with extraordinary talent, resilience and a positive approach in life that he managed to weather off several storms that came his way.

He had a stormy relationship with his Japanese coach Munehiro Kugiyama that led to a much-publicized breakup months before the greatest sports show on earth was to unfold.

Though he’s dealing with another problem, a personal one that he’d rather not talk about for now as he wants to enjoy his moment of greatness.

“I’m just grateful to God. I’m grateful I didn’t stop from pursuing my dream because He gave me hope and He gave me people who truly believe and trust me,” said Yulo moments after winning his first gold.

He had two troubling nights before the finals of the floor exercise, his signature event, but with the help of his partner, Chloe San Jose, Yulo managed to endure it and came out a big winner.

“I was worried and tense heading into the finals,” said Yulo. “But I was grateful He did not let me down.”

It was a huge relief, not only for himself, but for every Juan dela Cruz who prayed fervently for his success.

And when his name was called as a winner, the proud son of Leveriza in Manila dropped to his knees, clutched his face with his two strong hands before starting crying unabashedly.

“It’s hard to stop (crying),” Yulo said with a smile.

It was in this event where he first shot into international prominence after winning the gold in the World Championships in 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany
Recalling that brilliance, Yulo produced an eye-popping 15.000 score — thanks to a 6.6 degree of difficulty and 8.400 in execution.

The marked improvement in the degree of difficulty – from 6.2 to 6.6 – was the clincher.

Unlike in the all-around where he ended up 12th among 24 finalists, Yulo performed without hesitation this time around.

“Actually, I adjusted my score in the qualification for me to qualify safely and because it was really stressful for my body as well as for my mind,” said Yulo. “On the final, I just went for it and did not hesitate.”

Yulo’s triumph in vault was a huge bonus although he came into the arena armed with a positive approach.

“I was more chilled and relaxed after my first gold, so it was a bonus,” said Yulo. “Nawala lahat ang stress sa katawan ko after winning the floor exercise (The stress went away when I finally won in floor exercise).”

Called Dragulescu, Yulo landed almost in perfect position though he made a slight step backwards, thus earning 15.433 points.

His second vault was equally spectacular, coming through with a Kasamatsu double twist for a 14.800 and a whopping average of15.116.
Fully satisfied with his performance, he bowed gently to the cheers of the happy crowd.

The cheers got louder when his scores were flashed on a giant monitor above, confirming that he had overtaken Armenian Artur Davtyan and British Harry Hepworth, who eventually finished second and third respectively with 14.966 and 14.949.

With his rare double-gold performance, Yulo stands to receive at least ₱20 million under the athletes and coaches incentives act plus P6 million more from the Congress, not to mention a condominium worth ₱35 million.

There will be more incentives once he goes home to a hero’s welcome which he truly deserves.

Yes, the Philippines now has a new sporting king.

Take a bow, King Carlos!