“Well done Carlos Yulo. You have made the country proud”
UNQUESTIONABLY, the name of Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo will be hitched in our history books as one of our great athletes.
He is now a hero to the entire proud nation and he deserves it.
One gold medal would have been more than enough to put his name in the pantheon of great Filipino bemedaled Olympic athletes but, with two gold medals, this record may never be broken.
He brought pride and joy to a nation so accustomed to gloomy and depressing news and that is something no money can buy no matter how short it is.
Social media is now abuzz with his exploits and the rewards that await him when he comes home. Some may not realize it but this year’s Olympic competitions marks exactly 100 years of Philippine participation in the Olympics because it was in 1924 when we first sent our athletes to the 1924 Paris Olympiad.
Yulo’s accomplishments, therefore, make a fitting tribute to celebrate the occasion.
With a sure haul of four medals, our athletes performed better than in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Depending on what kind of medals our boxers will win, the country should be looking at a top 20 finish which is a big improvement from the last Olympics.
As of this writing, four of the 22 athletes we sent earned medals which translates to about 18 per cent which is very good when compared to bigger delegations.
But as usual, the 22 athletes were accompanied by three or four times more officials.
The results, however, show we can compete with the best in the world, and with a better supported athletic program we can do better.
That Yulo was able to endure to achieve what he did is thanks to his personal perseverance and the small coterie of people who never gave up on him like my good friend Cynthia Carreon who told me after the disappointments of the 2021 Olympics that Yulo will deliver which he finally did in Paris.
The Paris Olympics is one like no other.
There was not the usual parade of nations normally done in a large stadium with all the athletes marching around the athletic oval with tens of thousands of spectators cheering.
This time the parade if one can call it that was a boat ride along the iconic Seine River that crosses the heart of Paris.
This being the case, many athletes were not able to participate due to space limitations which must have dampened their spirits.
But Paris being the City of lights, all the athletes must have just simply soaked in the Paris experience.
Whether the Paris Olympics will come out as one of the best, we will have to wait and see.
Already there are some controversies like the two female boxers who are alleged to have XY chromosomes and were disqualified in one international boxing competition because they were not considered as women.
It is hard to understand why there are two different rules when there should be only one.
It cannot be that a person is considered a woman in one international competition and not in another. One of our two remaining boxers might even meet one of them.
There is also the use of the Seine River for swimming competition.
Some athletes have been hospitalized for suspected bacterial poisoning due the elevated level of feces found in the river.
Nonetheless, swimming events continue to be held there.
For those who have not been to Paris, the Seine River is equivalent to our Pasig River.
Not as polluted but still one would be crazy to be swimming in it.
I doubt very much if the Paris authorities were able to clean it up in a manner that it will really be safe for athletic competition.
But its Paris folks. Maybe it’s all worth it to swim in the Seine even if there is the danger of getting E coli poisoning.
Very soon, our athletes will be home to celebrate their well-deserved accomplishments.
And for Carlos Yulo, let’s hope that he will have the stamina to attend to all those flurry of social activities.
Well done Carlos Yulo. You have made the country proud.
