(UPDATE) TWO Olympic gold medals, three World Championships titles, 11 Asian Championships golds and nine Southeast Asian Games gold medals.
Gymnast Carlos Yulo could just retire now with the said achievements and be still regarded as the best Filipino Olympian yet.
Yulo is far from finished, though, saying he could even see himself competing until the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
“There are many, many [things I want to achieve]. My journey isn’t over yet, there’s the LA Olympics of course, and after that we don’t know if I’ll continue, but I can see myself making it to the 2032 Olympics,” said Yulo.
“I’m just really praying that I’ll always stay safe in all my competitions and training.”
For the second straight year, Yulo was named “Athlete of the Year” at the 2025 Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Awards Night at the Diamond Hotel Manila Grand Ballroom on his 26th birthday on Monday, Feb. 16.
Yulo is co-Athlete of the Year with tennis ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala, marking the first time in 22 years the PSA named a male and female co-Athletes of the Year since boxing great Manny Pacquiao and golfer Jennifer Rosales shared the honor back in 2004.
“I’m really happy and proud [to share the award with Eala],” said Yulo.
“More and more Filipinos are now able to compete at the international level. I hope even more of us can rise up. Let’s show the world the ability of the Filipino.”
Yulo said he met Eala briefly before and he’d love to hear more from the rising Filipina tennis star, maybe get some advice.
“I met her before the Olympics, but after that she became super busy. Of course, I’m also excited to meet her again and ask for advice because athletes go through different experiences and challenges,” said Yulo.
“I often ask Kuya EJ (Obiena) and Ate Hidilyn (Diaz) for guidance, and I’ve learned so much from them. All of our athletes have different stories, and it’s truly inspiring — it motivates me to train harder and strive more in life.”