EDITORIAL — Aiming for more golds

For just the second time in the Olympics, Filipinos are rejoicing over a gold medal. Carlos Yulo, who already brought honors to the country by bagging World Championship golds and other medals in 2019 and 2021, achieved his dream and won a gold medal in floor exercise last Saturday at the Olympic Games in Paris.

The 24-year-old Yulo follows in the footsteps of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who in July 2021 at the Summer Games in Tokyo became the first Filipino to win a gold medal since the Philippines joined the Olympics in 1924, which was also held in Paris.

Having shown the way, Diaz inspired other Filipino athletes to go for the gold. At the Tokyo Games three years ago, Yulo had faltered in his bid for an Olympic gold. Undeterred, he set his sights on Paris. Both Yulo and Diaz have presented similar formulas for the development of Olympians: determination, discipline and rigorous training.

Excellence in sports also requires considerable resources and support to train in a proper environment over a prolonged period, during which an athlete’s livelihood or formal schooling may be seriously disrupted. Hidilyn Diaz did not get that kind of support, and her financial struggles even prompted her to publicly seek training sponsorship in 2019. She was tagged by Malacañang as part of a conspiracy to destabilize and oust then president Rodrigo Duterte. But Diaz persisted on her own and trained abroad to propel herself to the top of her game.

Even boxers, who have reaped honors although no Olympic gold so far for the country, typically depend initially on their own resourcefulness in obtaining what they need to advance in their field.

Carlos Yulo’s story highlights the importance of starting them young when it comes to athletics. He began honing his gymnastic skills reportedly at age seven, competing for the first time in a tournament when he was just eight years old. Yulo trained in earnest with support from the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines in Manila before moving to Japan in 2016 on a scholarship sponsored by the Japan Olympic Association. Despite the strenuous training, he was able to obtain a degree in literature from Teikyo University.

With his gold medal, Yulo can expect a P24-million condominium unit and possibly millions more in cash and kind mostly from the private sector. Apart from providing such incentives, the private sector also supports sports development, but athletics can use more resources. From spotting promising talents at an early age and developing their athletic potential, substantial resources and efficient management are needed for sports development. The victories of Hidilyn Diaz and now Carlos Yulo as well as the other medal winners in the Philippine team show that the investment is worth it.