October 12, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Clad in a blue coat and white pants, Carlos Yulo received celebrity treatment when he accepted the special award presented to him by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya for his “outstanding contribution to the world of sports and the Philippines-Japan relations.”
The celebratory dinner event was hosted by Ambassador Endo at his residence in Makati City in honor of Yulo. It was attended by distinguished guests, including Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) president Cynthia Carrion, Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito of the Philippine Senate Committee on Sports, Aniela Bianca Tolentino and Michael Romero of the Philippine Congress’ Youth and Sports Development Committee, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann, and Federation International de Gymnastique president WATANABE Morinari.
Carrion introduced Yulo as her “golden man.” They hugged and got a round of applause from the event attendees. Photo opportunities, a presscon, and dinner with special guests followed after that.
Yulo remarked in his acceptance speech that he was “grateful and honored” for the award. “I just wanted to say thank you so much for the love and support that you gave me and the other athletes. Of course, Japan is really special to my heart and it really helped me to boost my gymnastics (skills) and of course, my personality as well.”
The two-time Olympic gold medalist with (from left) Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion, Ambassador Endo Kazuya and his wife Akiko, and International Federation of Gymnastics president Morinari Watanabe. — Photo by Russell Palma
“And I’m really grateful to the people that I met there and their skills, their culture, how they speak, how they move. I’m really grateful for that and for the help that they gave me and the knowledge that I acquired now like all the winnings that I accomplished. They made really big effect on (me),” added he.
Ambassador Endo cited how Yulo carried on despite falling short of securing a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and his struggles along the way.
“It excites me to know that it was in Japan where Carlos further honed his mind and body into becoming a champion through a scholarship that helped him on his training path, as he remains the superb testament to our country’s people-to-people and sports-cultural exchanges,” he said.
“Japan is deeply, deeply honored to have helped shape him into the best version of himself and into one of the finest athletes that sport has seen. I would also like to congratulate my fellow Japanese who supported Carlos during his training in Japan,” he added.
Carrion reiterated how Filipino businessman and avid sports patron Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) aided Carlos in pursuit of his Olympic dreams.
“I would like to say the making of a champion like Carlos Yulo represents a lot of challenges and pain,” shared Carrion. “But that pushed me to be a better president and to make me stronger as a sports leader because the challenges, not only for me, but also for him, it also pushed him. And in the making of a champion, we need a lot of funding, okay?”
“And I started to search for funds, and unfortunately, I did not realize that I was becoming a professional beggar, but a beggar with style and substance. Because I believe I was doing it with honesty, with confidence,” she continued.
“Because I always asked them that I will win a medal for them and for transparency and for this pursuit of excellence. So, the song that says to dream the impossible dream became the dream of possible dreams because MVP decided to give me some funds. So, that became a possible dream for us, for the two of us.”
Yulo is planning to visit Japan soon and is looking forward to dropping by at the university where he studied and trained under Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya.
The Philippines’ two-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast trained in Japan under a scholarship program in 2016 and pursued his education at the Teikyo University in Tokyo where he earned an associate degree in literature in 2022.
“If I go to the university, I will say thank you for the support that they gave me and, of course, for the scholarship that they gave me before,” stated Yulo. “They really took good care of me. I want to see the president of the university and say thank you and, of course, show the medal. I also want to eat ramen. Haha! I really miss ramen.”
Having spent quite a long time in Japan, Yulo learned the Japanese language. During the presscon, he was asked in Japanese by one of the press members and he answered in Japanese. He was queried about his Tokyo 2020 Olympics stint.
Yulo’s reply in Japanese was translated in English by an interpreter, saying, “As expected, Tokyo Olympics, it was difficult. It was very frustrating… and I tried to find different approaches in doing my routines.”
“So, once I found something that worked for me, I integrated more of those into my routines, my activities. It also made me feel good when I was able to find something that worked for me. I was really happy when my routines worked for me during the floor exercises (at the Paris 2024 Olympics).”
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