Carlos Yulo, the first male Filipino gymnast to win a gold medal in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, is favored to claim several medals in the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.  At the Olympics commencing on July 23rd, he will be vying for seven medals, including gold in the floor exercise of the men’s artistic gymnastics.  

Yulo grew up watching Philippines’ top gymnasts train near his hometown at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.  He would later end up training there after being admitted to the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP). 

In 2017, he moved to Japan and has been training in Tokyo with coach Munehiro Kugimiya, after being offered a scholarship through the Japan Olympic Association.  In Tokyo, Yulo trains six to eight hours a day, six days per week.  His hard work paid off and he made history by claiming a bronze medal for the Philippines in the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. 

The following year, Yulo made another historic achievement by winning a gold medal at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, which secured him a spot to compete for the Philippines at the 2020 Summer Olympics.   He is also the first male athlete from Southeast Asia to win a gold in the competition’s history.

In the same year, at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Manila, he won two gold and five silver medals. 

Team Philippines will be led by 2016 Rio Olympics Games silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz.  Diaz is the first Filipino woman to win a medal in the Summer Games and she will be looking to claim another medal for her country.  

Another favorite to claim a medal is Nesthy Petecio who is the featherweight champion at the 2019 AIBA Women’s Boxing World Championship.

Make sure to watch Yulo, Diaz and Petacio, along with the rest of Team Philippines in the Games:

Ernest John Obiena (Athletics – men’s pole vault)

Eumir Marcial (Boxing – men’s middleweight)

Irish Magno (Boxing – women’s flyweight)

Carlo Paalam (Boxing – men’s flyweight)

Cris Nievarez (Rowing – men’s single sculls)

Kurt Barbosa (Taekwondo – men’s -58kg)

Margielyn Didal (Skateboard – women’s street)

Elreen Ando (weightlifting – women’s 64kg)

Jayson Valdez (Shooting – men’s air rifle 10m)

Juvic Pagunsan (Men’s golf) Kristina Knott (Athletics – women’s 200m)

Kiyomi Watanabe (Judo – women’s -63kg)

Bianca Pagdanganan (Women’s golf)

Yuka Saso (Women’s golf)

Remedy Rule (Swimming – women’s 200m butterfly)

Luke Gebbie (Swimming – men’s 50m and 100m freestyle)