August 2024 will forever be remembered as the time Carlos Yulo took his place in the pantheon of greats.

The two-time gymnastics world champion from Leveriza Street in Malate, Manila carved his name in history when he flipped, twisted and tumbled to Olympic gold in Paris in two of his pet events – the floor exercise (15.000) and vault (15.116).

Yulo’s dazzling show he performed over two unforgettable days in August in the City of Lights installed him as the greatest Philippine Olympian of all time.

He's the first Pinoy to win two gold medals in the Olympiand, surpassing what everyone had achieved before him. He joined weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who scored the country’s breakthrough mint in Tokyo three years ago, in the elite club of Philippine Olympic champs.

Thanks to the 24-year-old Yulo, it was the best-ever showing for Team Philippines in a century of participation in the quadrennial Games.

And for that, Philippine Sportswriters’ Association is recognizing Yulo as its top achiever for the month of August.

Honorable mention were lady boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, who complemented the golden boy with bronze medals in the women’s 57kg and 50kg class, respectively.

Outside the Paris Games, it was 17-year-old golfer Rianne Malixi, obstacle course racer Precious Cabuya, and wushu athlete Jones Inso Llabre who shone brightest.

Malixi ruled the prestigious US Women’s Amateur crown in Tulsa, Oklahoma in a smashing follow up to her record-breaking triumph at the US Girls’ Junior tournament the previous month in California.

Cabuya reigned supreme in the OCR World Championship in Costa Rica in a new OCR 100m elite female world mark of 31.521 seconds while Inso Llabres topped the Men’s Chen Style 56 Movements category of the 4th World Taijiquan Championships in Singapore.

JULY

Pro boxer Pedro Taduran and teenagers Alex Eala and Rianne Malixi shone bright in July in a delightful appetizer for ‘The Carlos Yulo Show’ in the Paris Olympics.

Taduran punched himself to world champion status as he stopped erstwhile unbeaten Japanese holder Ginjiro Shigeoka in the ninth round of his road challenge in Otsu, Japan.

The Filipino southpaw, who briefly held the same belt in 2019, is the second reigning champ from the Philippines after Melvin Jerusalem, the WBC world minimumweight kingpin.

Before Taduran’s glorious moment, tennis ace Eala, 19, and golf sensation Malixi, 17, proudly flew the country’s tri-colors in their respective fields.

Eala scored a twin kill in the elite W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain, winning the doubles with French partner Estelle Cascino at the expense of Bulgaria’s Lia Karatancheva and Latvia’s Diana Marcinkevica, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4, before annexing the singles crown with a methodical 6-4, 6-4 disposal of Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra.

At about the same time in Tarzana, California, Malixi reigned supreme in the US Girls’ Junior, spiking this feat with a record-breaking 8 and 7 blowout over American Asterisk Talley in the 36-hole finale.

Malixi was the second Pinay to win the USGA event after Princess Superal in 2014.

As they held the fort before Yulo and the rest of the Olympic Team went full throttle in France, the trio earned the nod of the Philippine Sportswriters Association as top achievers for July.

Bets in team sports likewise delivered big. 

Team Manila repeated as champ in the Girls’ U-18 Pony International Softball World Series in McAllen, Texas, while Strong Group Athletics made a clean sweep in ruling the Jones Cup in Taipei and Gilas Pilipinas Boys brought out the broom in the SEABA Qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur for a ticket to the FIBA U18 Asia Cup.

Meanwhile, ace gymnast Yulo moved into striking position at the Paris Games, where he easily booked his spot in the medal rounds of his stronghold events of floor exercise and vault.

Lady boxers Nesthy Petecio (57 kg class) and Aira Villegas (50kg class) also fired the opening salvo in their medal bids in the 2024 Olympiad with roaring victories in the Round of 32.