Carlos Yulo honors GAP chief Cynthia Carrion after triumphant Olympic bid: 'Siya yung tumayong magulang ko'

Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo didn't reach the 2024 Paris Olympics summit alone, saying that a lot of people were with him along the way as he made history for the Philippines in the Summer Games.

One of those ardent believers is Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) president Cynthia Carrion, whom Yulo regarded as someone who acts in a parental role for him.

"Ang daming taong tumulong sa akin. Si Ma’am Cythia, lahat po inaaway niya para lang suportahan ako. Siya ‘yung tumayong magulang ko po, naniwala po talaga sa akin," Yulo said on early Monday (Philippine time).

[There are many people who helped me. Maam Cynthia, she fought a lot of people to be able to support me. She is like a parent to me, she believes in me.]

Yulo religiously started his gymnastics journey back in 2016, when he and his family decided that he fly to Japan and train under the tutelage of Japanese head coach Munehiro Kugimiya, who would be guiding the Filipino gymnast for the better part of his life until their partnership ended last year.

Yulo is now under a Filipino coach in Aldrin Castañeda, who has been helping him in his buildup for the Paris Games.

All these happened with Carrion, who took Yulo under her guidance when he was just seven years old, at the helm of the local gymnastics body.

With Carrion's help, the 24-year-old Yulo was able to accomplish what others thought would be an impossible task.

He first ruled the men's floor exercise --- his pet event --- by posting 15.000 points on Saturday then left everyone in awe by nailing 15.166 in the vault finals the following night to complete a double gold medal run.

"Hindi ko rin po alam (paano ko po nagawa 'yung second vault routine) kasi sa training, hindi ko siya natatayo pero sa mga previous training ko naman po, magaganda ‘yung vault ko," Yulo added.

"And pinapanood ko siya palagi and feeling ko na-replicate ko siya today so sobrang blessed and grateful po talaga."

[I don't know how I did it because in training, I'm not able to stick it but in my previous trainings, my vaults have been good. I keep watching it and I feel like I replicated it today so I feel really blessed and grateful.]

—JMB, GMA Integrated News