By MARK REY MONTEJO
Winning a medal in the Olympics is something every athlete from any country is longing to achieve.
That’s because it takes one four years or more to prepare, and in the case of gymnast Carlos Yulo, he did not only win one but two, so for coach Aldrin Castañeda, it was a huge jackpot.
Castañeda, a Cebu City native, expressed his amazement as Yulo managed to achieve the improbable, noting they were already happy for the first gold but securing the second one made his Paris Olympics experiencxe more special.
“Actually, ‘yong unang gold namin talaga napaiyak sya and talagang hindi namin inasahan pero kasama ‘yon sa plano na talagang kahit isa lang ‘yong gold namin eh okay na,” said Castañeda.
“Eh ‘yong pangalawa pag binigay pa ni Lord jackpot na talaga, eh dumalawa kami jackpot talaga,” he added.
After a disappointing stint in Tokyo three years ago, Yulo came back with a new mind set and fully prepared.
So he reaped huge dividends for all his sacrifices – a gold each in the floor exercise and vault events in men’s artistic gymnastics
Yulo’s pair of gold medals were not only a feat for himself but became a key for the Philippines’ most successful stint in the quadrennial meet so far – a timely effort as the country celebrated its 100th year since joining the greatest sports show on earth in the very same city.
With 22 bets vied all around French soil, the Nationals snared two golds on top of bronze honors from boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas to finish 37th place and No. 1 in the Southeast Asia region for two consecutive Olympic editions.
The gymnast-turned-coach also disclosed that they will take a break for at least a month before resuming training for another stab at Olympic glory in Los Angeles four years from now.
There, Yulo will certainly have the support of the crowd, what with a large number of Filipinos in the area.
“Off season muna kami ngayon, after 1 or 2 months babalik na ulit kami,” Castañeda continued.
“Oo hanggang 2028 po, susubukan natin ulit,” he concluded.
Castañeda along with his Cebuano former gymnasts Ricardo Otero and Joel Panugalinog took the helm of guiding Yulo’s journey back to the Summer Games.
They had been on Yulo’s side since the pride of Leveriza parted ways with his long-time mentor Japanese Munehiro Kugimiya.
