The Philippines won its first Olympic gold medal ever since it joined in the 1924 Paris games, only during the July 2021 Tokyo games, courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, a momentous achievement that Filipinos proudly celebrated.
In this year’s Paris games, we already have 2 more gold medals, courtesy of gymnast Carlos Yulo, who was the best among the best of the world, in the floor exercises and vault events. Yulo also competed in the Tokyo Olympics, where he showed promise but was either not yet ripe, or crumbled under the pressure. But he didn’t give up and focused on his chosen sport, steadily honing his skills and composure, and winning other international competitions as he made his way to the Paris Olympics where he would eventually make history.
Both Yulo and Diaz followed a relatively simple formula in their quest to become Olympic gold medalists and inspire their countrymen of our potential for individual and collective greatness: determination, discipline, and rigorous training. What made it complex was somehow mustering the necessary support to excel in their sport, which requires considerable resources that may or may not be provided by a government that can be notoriously finicky when it comes to choosing the talents it nurtures for Olympic-level greatness.
Carlos Yulo started young, honing his gymnastics skills reportedly at age seven and competing by the time he was eight. He was able to train with support from the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines in Manila and was able to make it to Japan in 2016 on a scholarship sponsored by the Japan Olympic Association. There he continued his training and was even able to obtain a degree in literature. It was this private sector support that allowed him to develop his skills and talent, without having to worry as much as most other Filipino athletes.
With his double gold medals, Yulo has shown his countrymen, and the world, what the Filipino is capable of, as long as the circumstances are right, which could be akin to winning the Olympic lottery a lot of the time. However, if our government and sports officials learn their lesson, there can come a time when we won’t have to rely on luck so much, but the Filipino athlete with Olympic potential can count on a system that will identify talent and provide the necessary resources and support so the Filipino potential for excellence can be consistently maximized.*
