By MARK REY MONTEJO
For Carlos Yulo, it was beyond the Olympic moment, or the rewards that await him once he returns home.
The 4-foot-11 gymnast, who showed the biggest heart in Paris on Saturday night, Aug. 3, proved that the journey toward unprecedented heights is the ultimate lesson one can have.
From the heartbreak in Tokyo three years ago, to picking up the broken pieces after going coachless just months before the Summer Games, Yulo is a true example of Filipino resilience.
“Actually yung sa Olympics po, hindi po siya talaga revenge no. Kailangan mo talagang aralin ‘yong sarili mo, hindi lang basta ‘yong gymnastics,” said Yulo. “Kailangan maging open ka, flexible ka sa buhay, hindi lang talaga sa sports.”
Coming out as the top contender in the Tokyo Games in his pet event, the floor exercise, after ruling the 2019 world championships in Germany, Yulo failed to qualify in the finals, and went home empty-handed after finishing fourth in the vault.
From there, he would bag the gold medal in vault and silver in parallel bars in the 2021 world championships in Japan.
After touring the world and winning multiple medals one after another, Yulo was hit with another trouble when he parted ways with his longtime Japanese coach, a few months before the Paris Games.
But he showed tough resolve Saturday night, and what way to redeem himself but with a gold medal in his chest and the national anthem playing on the biggest stage of all.
“Hindi ako nagpatinag sa mga challenges. At nagpapasalamat talaga ako kay Lord na pina-experience siya sa akin yung ganitong buhay. And yung ganitong opportunity na makapaglaro sa ganitong kalaking competition.”
“Of course po, yung pag-alis ko po sa Japan, sobrang challenging po noon. And nag-training ako sa Pilipinas, yung mga ganong scenario po. And araw-araw na biyahe. Like personal problems, gymnastics problems, yung mga karanasan po namin, ayun po yung nag-backtrack po talaga,” he added.
Yulo will fight for another medal in the vault finals Sunday night as he targets to become the first Filipino multi-medalist in a single Olympic edition.
