Yesterday, everyone tuned in to watch the Philippines earn their second Olympic champion Carlos Yulo. After delivering a stunning performance for his floor exercise routine and landing a gold medal-earning score of 15.000, the Philippine national anthem was played for the second time during the prestigious event and Carlos made history as an Olympic gold medalist.
Further down below, here are even more things you didn't know about the country's first male gold medalist.
10 Things You Didn't Know About Carlos Yulo
1. Started training at age 7.
According to this Rappler post, Carlos started training at an early age. This led him to victory at 12 years old, when he competed at the Palarong Pambansa and won the All-Around Gymnastics Champion in 2011.
2. Currently, he is 24 years old
Born February 16, 2000, Carlos has been practicing gymnastics for a whopping 17 years and counting.
3. He stands at 1.5m or 4'11".
4. He is currently dating social media content creator Chloe Anjeleigh San Jose.
According to his bio on the Olympic website, he lists Chloe as his girlfriend under the family category.
5. He left the Philippines to pursue gymnastics in 2016.
When he was only 16 years old, Carlos moved out of his home country and set up shop in Japan. At that time, he was granted a scholarship under the Japan Olympic Association.
6. He also competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
During his first Olympic stint in Tokyo, Carlos was highly favored to win a gold medal. But his mistakes during the event cost him penalties and he walked away with a fourth place finish in the vault category.
Despite his results, he took it all in stride and proceeded to win the gold medal in the all-around category during the Southeast Asian Games 2022, won another gold at the floor exercise category at the Asian Championships in Doha, and his first continental championship all-around title at the 2024 Asian Championships.
7. He found himself without a coach just five months before the Paris Olympics.
In October 2023, he and coach Munehiro Kugimiya parted ways. In an unfortunate turn of events, his next coach Tomoharu Sano sustained an injury that prevented him from flying out of Tokyo. Soon after, Carlos found himself being invited to train at Olympian Lee Jun-ho's gym in South Korea and then at the British gymnastics centre.
8. He is trained by Aldrin Castaneda and Dr. Hazel Calawod.
Though without an official coach, he's been under the tutelage of his former junior gymnastics coach Aldrin Castaneda and sports occupational therapist Dr. Hazel Calawod.
9. Won the first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines in the Men's Gymnastics category and is the first male to win a gold medal for the country.
Last August 3, the world tuned in and watched as Carlos delivered an impeccably flawless floor routine featuring a three-and-a-half twist dismount that earned him a score of 15.000. As he ended his routine, he pumped his fists in the air and let out a triumphant cry. At that moment, he had just secured the country a gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise final.
This marks the Philippines' second ever Olympic gold medal. Hidilyn Diaz secured the first gold medal during the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 for weightlifting.
10. For winning a gold, he gets various rewards.
According to the Republic Act 10699, gold medalists will receive P10 million as a cash prize for individual events, a 20% discount from most establishments, free medical and dental consultations in government hospitals anywhere in the country, and an Olympic Gold Medal of valor from the Philippines Sports Commission.
Congratulations, Carlos! You've made the whole country proud.
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