Pinoy Powerhouse: Carlos Yulo's Path to Olympic Gold

Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo (born February 16, 2000) is a Filipino artistic gymnast. He is the first Filipino and the first male Southeast Asian gymnast to medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships with his floor exercise bronze medal finish in 2018, and the first-ever gold medal finish for the same criteria in 2019 in the same event. With multiple medals on the international stage, Yulo is the most successful Filipino gymnast in history.
Yulo is a six-time world championship medalist, winning two golds, two silvers, and two bronzes; a ten-time Asian champion; and a nine-time SEA Games champion. His highest placement at the Olympic Games was fourth in the vault at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He is noted for his short stature compared to other male gymnasts, his precision in form, and the difficulty of his routines, especially in the floor exercise, vault, and parallel bars.
Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo was born on February 16, 2000,[1] to Mark Andrew Yulo, a travel agent liaison, and Angelica Yulo, a homemaker,[2][3] in Manila, Philippines,[4] and was raised in Leveriza Street, Malate.[5][6] He is the second of four siblings. His older sister, Joriel, is a member of the National University Pep Squad, and his younger siblings, Karl Jahrel Eldrew Yulo and Elaiza Andriel Yulo, are also gymnasts.[7][8] Yulo grew up watching Filipino gymnasts train and compete at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate.[9] Yulo started training for gymnastics when he was seven years old, when his grandfather, Rodrigo Frisco,[10] saw him tumbling at a local playground and brought him to the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) for training.[11]
Yulo attended Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School for his primary education in Manila, where he was already training for the Philippine National Games as part of the National Capital Region's gymnastics team.[12] Through the support of the GAP, he was able to attend Adamson University in Ermita for his secondary education.[2]
In 2016, Yulo accepted an offer by the Japan Olympic Association to train in Japan under a scholarship program.[13] After moving to Japan, Yulo continued his education at Teikyo University in Itabashi, Tokyo, and graduated in 2022 with an associated degree in literatur