CARLOS “Caloy” Yulo did not only make history in the ongoing Paris Olympics. He also opened our eyes to the beauty of gymnastics.
Before Yulo blitzed his two unprecedented gold medals in spectacular fashion — he did it in two straight days, mind you — we had but a mere glimpse of what the sport is really all about.
Beautiful.
Breath-taking.
Poetry in motion.
After 16 years of being a gymnast from age 8, Yulo’s dream of winning an Olympic gold was finally fulfilled.
Before Yulo, no one has won two Olympic gold medals in 100 years of Philippine participation in the quadrennial Games, putting him in a pedestal too hard to surpass, let alone equal.
After winning the floor exercise on Aug. 3, he cried unabashedly like a toddler losing his balloon to the wind.
He kept crying all the way to the awarding ceremony so that every note of “Lupang Hinirang” while the Philippine national anthem was being played gnawed at every single vein, valve, of his heart.
Surely, each tear shed was for joy and self-fulfillment to someone savoring his first taste of Olympic victory. Its impact more than amounted to his world title triumphs in 2019 and 2021.
The intense feeling can compare, perhaps, to the feeling of having finally speared the love of your life.
To every athlete, nothing beats Olympic glory.
Equally dramatic was when Yulo won his second gold in the vault events the next day, coming after a tension-filled wait for his last four opponents to complete their performances.
Performing fourth among eight finalists, Yulo took the lead after his two smashing vault executions, both coming in near-flawless fashion.
There was an anxious moment when the last performer appeared to have nailed the winning act.
But when the final scores showed Yulo the winner, euphoria erupted in the Filipino’s camp, with our ace gymnast embracing his Filipino coach, Aldrin Castañeda, amid cheering and hoopla.
“I’m so happy I made it as I am still in celebration mode after yesterday’s win,” said Yulo in Filipino. “I haven’t almost slept a wink last night.”
See? Yulo went through a gut-wringer not fit to anyone with a faint heart. A warrior like no other.
Only 24, Yulo is good for more exploits.
See you in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Caloy.