By MARK REY MONTEJO
Gymnast Carlos Yulo is not only a proud owner two Olympic gold medals, he is also blessed with a golden heart.
Yulo, the country’s first-ever double gold medalist in the Olympics, marked his 26th birthday last Monday, Feb. 16, by receiving his back-to-back Athlete of the Year award – sharing the honor with Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala – in the annual PSA Awards Night at Diamond Hotel in Manila.
A day after, the pride of Leveriza, Manila and her partner Chloe San Jose went to a church in Pampanga where they handed food to the children around the area.
“Salamat Lord sa panibagong taon ng buhay, isa na namang biyaya na buong puso ko pong tinatanggap. Lubos din po akong nagpapasalamat Fr. Jowel sa inyong mainit na pagtanggap at mapagpalang pagbabasbas po sa amin,” Yulo wrote on his Instagram post.
“Maraming salamat po ulit sa Panginoon sa pagkakaloob Niya sa amin ng blessings at pagkakataon na mag bahagi ng munting tulong at saya sa inyong banal na simbahan,” he added.
Yulo had fruitful campaigns in the past years, highlighted by his unprecedented two-gold haul in the 2024 Paris Olympics and a one-gold, three-bronze win in the Asian Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jecheon, South Korea and one-gold, one-bronze in the 2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia a year after.
The diminutive 4-foot-11 gymnast will have a busy 2026 schedule as he is set to compete in this year’s World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in October in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as well as in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
“Lahat ng tagumpay, lakas, at biyayang natatamo ko, ibinabalik ko po sa IYO ang lahat ng papuri at pasasalamat,” he concluded.. “All glory to You, Lord. Isa na namang taon para mangarap, magsikap, at matuto.”
