After braving bold career decisions and the accompanying controversies, Carlos Yulo is now poised to win for the Philippines its first medal in men’s artistic gymnastics in the Olympic Games that opened in Paris on July 26.

The 24-year-old Filipino gymnast has advanced to the final round of the floor exercise, vault, and all-around events. Compared to the performance of other Filipino athletes in the Olympics, his bid for a medal could be the most promising yet.

Several other Filipinos are still in contention in their respective events, while others have bowed out, including Yulo’s female counterparts—Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar, who all failed to make the cut for the finals in women’s artistic gymnastics.

Samantha Catantan also ended her historic debut as the first female fencer to represent the Philippines in the Olympics in the  round of 32 of the women’s individual foil event, but not before giving the world’s No. 2, Arianna Errigo of Italy, a serious run for her money with a 15-12 finish.

Still vying for a medal—excluding those whose events have yet to commence—are boxer Aira Villegas, who was impressive in her Olympic debut with a unanimous decision over Yasmine Mouttaki of Morocco in the round of 32, and rower Joanie Delgaco, who booked a ticket to the quarterfinals after notching the fastest time in the repechage 1 of the women’s single sculls. 

Yulo showed up big in his pet events, scoring 14.766 in floor exercise for a second-place finish and his first Olympic final in the apparatus. He booked yet another ticket to the vault apparatus final with a score of 14.683 for a sixth-place finish. 

With his impressive performance in the floor exercise and vault events and decent showing in the other four events, he concluded the men’s artistic gymnastics qualification at 9th place in the all-around rankings. His score of 83.861 propelled him to his first all-around event in the finals. 

With three chances at the elusive Olympic gymnastics medal compared to his sole chance at the vault final in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Filipino appeared to have weathered the storms in his promising career. 

Yulo parted ways with his longtime Japanese coach and trainer Munehiro Kugimiya last year heading into the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He said he had chosen his “peace of mind” after sensing that his mentor was overstepping gymnastics matters. 

The parting had disrupted his medal streak at the annual gymnastics event, but his fourth-place finish at the floor exercise final qualified him for the Paris Olympics. It also meant moving back to the Philippines from Japan, where he started training in 2017; his training took a hit in terms of losing access to world-class equipment and facilities.

His decision to create a new training environment seemed to be what the star gymnast needed.

Yulo’s sights are now set on the all-around final event on Wednesday, July 31. The floor exercise and vault finals will take place on Aug. 3 and 4, respectively.

Earl Elijah Almazora, a journalism student of the University of the Philippines’ College of Mass Communication, is an intern of CoverStory.ph.

Read more: Quest for gold: Gymnast Carlos Yulo seeks revenge in Paris