Her feat against World No. 2 Swiatek intensified the buzz among sports fans locally and internationally, with some dubbing her as the new “giant killer” of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

“I could exclaim firmly that Alex’s performance up to this series is world-class. Unfathomable, relentless winners against elite players. Congratulations,” one of them wrote on Facebook. 

Another posted: “Her resiliency, nerves of steel, made it possible to win the game and beat the odds against a formidable player like Iga Swiatek. Alex [is] an absolute inspiration to many people in the world.”

Prior to her performance and her commitment to reach the top in world women’s tennis, Eala graduated high school in 2023 from the Rafa Nadal Academy led by former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who also praised the alumna online. 

“We are extremely proud of you, Alex,” Nadal wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming!”

Present in Eala’s box during her quarterfinals match was Toni Nadal, Rafa Nadal Academy coach and Nadal’s uncle.

Also showing their support online are fellow tennis players, including Australian Olympian Ellen Perez who holds a ranking of No. 17. 

During the post-match interviews against Swiatek, Eala described how she felt as being “on cloud-nine.”

“Thank you all so, so much for all the support. This week has been so unbelievable, so I hope you guys can make it more unbelievable in my next match,” Eala said. 

With her efforts to reach the semifinals, Eala earned a colossal jump in her WTA ranking from 140 to 75. 

The 19-year old tennis star has become the first Filipino woman to defeat three Grand Slam champions in the Open Era with her triumphs against Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Swiatek. 

According to the WTA, Eala’s performance has also “equalled the best result achieved by a wild card at the Miami Open since the tournament’s inception in 1985.”

Eala will face the winner between Emma Raducanu of Britain and World No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the United States in the semifinals on March 28.

Read more: Alex Eala pursues quest in Miami Open, faces World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in quarterfinals

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This comes after her historic upset victory against Grand Slam champions World No. 5 Madison Keys (6-4, 6-2) of the United States and World No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia (7-6, 7-5) in the previous rounds.

In the opener, Eala, the 19-year old WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) star and ranked No. 140 before the tournament, scored her monumental main draw victory against World No. 73 Katie Volynets of the United States, 6-3, 7-6.

She is now making waves in the tournament as a wild card entry and the first Filipina to ever defeat Grand Slam players one after the other since the WTA rankings began in 1975.

Eala won her matches against Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, and Keys, the Australian Open champion, and with Badosa’s sudden pull-out, she will face five-time Grand Slam Champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals on March 26.

The Filipino sensation was emotional during an on-court television interview after her victory over Keys. “Growing up it was tough. You didn’t have anyone from where you’re from to pave the way. Of course, you have many people to look up to around the world, but I think—I hope this takes Filipino tennis to the next step.”

When she was 13 years old, Eala’s family made the tough decision to accept a full scholarship to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, where she graduated in 2023. 

“My family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there.” she said, adding:

“But of course, the academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I’m able to be where I am now. And I think the combination of everything that I’ve been through since I started tennis is what has led to this moment and what has led to me having all these opportunities.”

Present during her graduation ceremony was Swiatek, her next opponent in the Miami Open. Although taking the feat against Badosa was a walkover, Eala is still determined to power through her march against Swiatek.

“Not the way I would want to move on to my first WTA1000 QF. I wish Paula a speedy recovery. Looking forward to my match on Wednesday,” she wrote on Instagram.

Swiatek is formerly ranked at No. 1 for a total of 125 weeks before Aryna Sabalenka reclaimed the spot.

Read more: Alex Eala notches a first for the motherland

The post Alex Eala pursues quest in Miami Open, faces World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in quarterfinals appeared first on CoverStory.

The demo you’ll see isn’t just for show; it’s the athletes’ training session as they prepare to compete at the Hong Kong International Wushu Championship scheduled on Feb. 28–March 3. It’s a first for the group and, says Corpuz, a pleasant surprise, too, because the athletes did not expect to join any competition, much less qualify for an international bout that will gather 80,000 participants from over 50 countries.

The Wushu Arena athletes representing the Philippines along with Corpuz are: Maica and Reena Cabugao, Diane Basa, Carl and Bede Ramirez, Ishy Pena, Sha Liwanag, Chloe and Lucas Maniquis, Anton Sesdoyro, and John Timothy Duran. “This is my first time, as head coach, to compete with my team; I had no idea I would be qualified to [do so] because we’ve been doing this for fun, for health,” Corpuz says.

Corpuz set up Wushu Arena in 2023 when she was invited initially to serve as aikido instructor at Arena Fitness Dojo in Fisher Mall. The dojo eventually expanded its program to include wushu, and appointed her as head instructor. Previously, she was part of a small wushu demo group, performing at events, mall shows, and even on TV starting in 2017 until the pandemic forced everything to a stop. 

‘Dream team’

With Wushu Arena, Corpuz had the same intent—to form a demo group—but priorities changed after receiving the invitation from Hong Kong in November 2024. Despite their being all first-timers in competition, Corpuz describes Wushu Arena’s 12 athletes, whose ages range from 5 to the mid-30s, as her “dream team.” They are competing in multiple categories and have a total of 46 entries, with some requiring the use of weapons.

“For traditional wushu, there are many bare-hand routines. I’m competing in the Huaquan and Piguaquan events,” says Corpuz.

The categories where traditional weapons are used include Single and Double Nunchucks and Fan. Then there are the modern wushu events: Taijiquan (Taichi), Nanquan (southern), and Changquan. Categories with modern weapons are Daoshu (broadsword) and Jianshu (straight sword).

The fact that the team is competing in so many events is unconventional, says Corpuz, because most typically join only one category, or a maximum of three events. So far, based on what she has seen during training, she says the team is fully ready for the competition, and now needs to mostly just polish routines.

With barely a month to go before the championship, a key challenge for the team is funding, especially because wushu continues to be less popular compared to other martial arts such as karate and taekwondo. The athletes continue to raise the money by doing special performances at events. (Visit https://www.facebook.com/wushuartsacademy for details.)

While they find it challenging to prepare for the competition, it has fueled their desire to further pursue the sport. The dream, says Corpuz, is to see wushu as a category in the Olympics—and, of course, for them to represent the Philippines should that become a reality.

Benefits

In the meantime, Corpuz, through Wushu Arena, will continue to advocate for the sport and to educate more Filipinos on its benefits, particularly that it can be taken up by anyone at any age.

“The health benefits are really the No. 1 reason [to take up wushu],” she says. “I’ve seen older people who are very strong, who do really high leg raises, thanks to wushu. It’s also good for memory, because you need to memorize the choreography.”

It likewise blends athleticism with artistry, she adds. 

Corpuz hopes that through her guidance, Wushu Arena will continue to make waves in the Philippine sports scene, and embody the spirit of perseverance and creativity that defines this ancient martial art.

Nervous and excited

Among the Wushu Arena athletes are Carl and Bede Ramirez and John T Duran.

During our online interview, it is easy to see the strong bond between 6-year-old Bede and his kuya (elder brother) Carl, 16. After all, the two share a love for wushu, which is why they joined Wushu Arena last year—Carl in April, and Bede in November. 

“I’m a bit nervous, but also excited to represent the Philippines,” Carl admits.

Carl, who has experience in taekwondo, says he joined Wushu Arena to try something new. A quick search online led him to Coach Corpuz’s team, where his training prepared him to be competition-ready in less than a year. 

He is participating in the Tajiquan (Taichi), Single Nunchucks, and Double Nunchucks events in Hong Kong.

Bede is practicing wushu at levels 1 and 2. His response is straightforward when asked what motivated him to join his kuya: “It’s because he uses weapons.” 

But for the brothers, wushu is not just about competition. Carl speaks passionately about the sport’s deeper benefits—improved stamina, memory, and a connection to his family’s historical roots. He sees wushu as a more holistic martial art, focusing on full-body movements and precise techniques.

While Bede was inspired by his brother to take up wushu, 10-year-old John T Duran was motivated by the Netflix film “Ip Man,” which tells the story of a Chinese martial artist, a grandmaster who eventually trained Bruce Lee, and overcame his struggles during Japan’s invasion of China.

John T will compete in the Daoshu, or broadsword, category in Hong Kong. Even at a young age, he says he is already learning about discipline, friendship, and the art of movement.

Together with their teammates, the three boys’ passion for and dedication to wushu are helping them get through the challenging and diverse training regimen. They look forward to becoming well-rounded martial artists capable of both competitive performance and practical application, and to represent the future of wushu in the Philippines.

The post Filipinos are competing in global wushu championship in Hong Kong appeared first on CoverStory.

It was pure as pure could be: UP is the champion of UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball!

Exhibiting both depth and grit, it was an epic struggle between the two current titans of Philippine collegiate basketball: the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons and the De La Salle University Green Archers. 

It was Game 3 on Dec. 15, and like any other evenly matched struggle, the contest was not decided until the final buzzer sounded.

All throughout, it was basagan ng mukha, balyahan and asawahan, to use street lingo to describe the very physical game that culminated the rivalry two years in the making. Players were wrestling on the floor for the ball, falling and grimacing in pain after absorbing wayward elbows and flailing arms, bouncing off full body charges, limping away, and cramping up.

It was not even supposed to reach Game 3. It should have ended with Game 2, but La Salle survived by a hairline 76-75 edge because UP was less steady down that stretch. Now, there was no room to slacken, no excuse to flinch. It was do or die.

As he did in Game 2, La Salle head coach Topex Robinson did not begin with his best player, power forward Kevin Quiambao, in order to have the two big guys Michael Phillips and Henry Agunanne start and establish inside dominance early on. While it worked in Game 2, the adjustment may have led to pulling out Quiambao and subsequently not being able to reinsert him early enough during Game 3’s fourth-quarter closing minutes when the game was still in the balance. Nevertheless, even when on court, Quiambao was often locked down by the UP defense and had few scoring opportunities.

Right after tipoff, UP cranked up its offense in an effort to put the game away early. Employing fast breaks that La Salle tried to counter with full court presses and traps, UP attempted to score quickly with every possession. The intensity was at its height when UP was able to build a 14-point lead in the third quarter, with Gerry Abadiano racking up 7 straight points. (It was Abadiano who could have won Game 2 when he took a last-second heave—that missed.) But then, led by Quiambao, La Salle’s 3-pointers started falling and Phillips scored at will, enabling La Salle to pull abreast at 56-56 early in the fourth quarter. That’s when the UP triumvirate of Quentin Millora-Brown, JD Cagulangan and Francis Lopez combined for 8 points to pull ahead and give UP the cushion it needed. Lopez’s final 3-pointer was the dagger to La Salle’s heart and his shot to full redemption after his 4 missed free throws and turnover that enabled La Salle to hang on in Game 2.

UP did not reach the level of success it now commands in men’s basketball overnight. It was not even years. It was decades. There was a time when UP was the cellar-dweller in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines. It was so bad that finally winning a game after 27 straight losses merited a bonfire at UP’s Sunken Garden, apparently because a single win was just as hard to come by as a championship. (Of course, there was a roaring bonfire at the Sunken Garden on Dec. 16.)

Now everyone is all praise and thankful for the support of alumni, sponsors, the school administration and the entire UP community to afford a basketball program that attracts top-notch coaching and nurtures talented players.

Over the past four seasons, UP won the championship in the first, placed a close second (losing in Game 3s) to Ateneo de Manila University and La Salle in the second and third, and claimed dominance once more in the fourth. Not bad in a league where UP is the only state university and all the others are the country’s top private universities. It is, hopefully, a dynasty in the making.

“Is it the players or the coach?” my wife said when I gleefully shared the news that UP had won. She was wondering who was responsible for the victory and was voicing the basketball version of the “Is it the chicken or the egg” question. “The players,” I said. Actually, “both” would have been a fair answer, but that would not have sat well with her, as she does not like me taking a noncommittal stance.

In a sporting world where the level of competition is so high that victory is determined by a split second or the “breaks of the game,” the way basketball is, the winning edge is often determined by mental toughness and the all-consuming desire to win. “Second is bottom. Second is last,” I vaguely remember some win-obsessed movie character saying.

UP’’s coach, the aptly named Goldwin Monteverde, underlined the importance of mental toughness when he told his team: “Walang bibitaw. Let’s not stop. Just keep pounding.” Game adjustments were no longer paramount. It was mindset. Clearly, it is true that the formula for success is “99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.” That 1% is the mental toughness that provides the winning edge. 

Put in the drills, the hard work, and they will all bear fruit. Or not. As the player executes, there is no time for thought. Hit or miss. Win or lose. Play ball!

Read more: UP admin and University Council still at odds on UP-AFP accord

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Allianz PNB Life (AZPNBL) helps to secure the future of the Creamline Cool Smashers and Choco Mucho Flying Titans with its eAZy Health coverage package, which covers most of their potential health issues as professional athletes. 

The package provides life insurance coverage with protection against critical illnesses, accidents, and disability. It is well-suited for the players and coaches’ age group and profession, and includes the Healthbox, a one-stop shop that offers easy access to AZPNBL’s health, lifestyle and wellness partners nationwide. Among the benefits of Healthbox are medical home consultations, health tests and preventive services for wellness.

“The Allianz commitment to supporting athletes has a long-term point of view — while they are still playing and when they retire as professional athletes,” said AZPNBL president and CEO Joe Gross. “This plan was specifically chosen for the Creamline Cool Smashers and Choco Mucho Flying Titans because it assures them that health issues that may arise from their profession are covered, and that they have life protection.”

The eAZy Health package is designed for easy understanding even by beginners in financial planning. It is also the first plan in the Philippines that can cover health conditions such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, and CABG (coronary artery bypass graft). In addition, plan holders can get up to 30% cash back of the total premiums if no claims are made after five years.

The volleyball teams are guided by a “life changer” who assists them throughout their journey of financial well-being. “Life changers” are Allianz financial advisors dedicated to helping clients secure their future by guiding them in wealth accumulation and management and in well-being aspirations.

“We are grateful for the generous contribution of Allianz PNB Life to the players and coaches, given that volleyball is physically demanding for the players and can be stressful to the coaching team,” said Creamline Cool Smashers manager Alandel Acero.  

He added: “Through this partnership, coaches and players can now focus on what matters to them– developing the athletes and helping them play at their best. This gift is proof that Allianz PNB Life believes in the athletes, supports sportsmanship, and is true to their dedication to the partnership.”

Choco Mucho Flying Titans manager Rollie Delfino noted that about 90% of the team members have become financially mature and are investing in their future as a result. 

“Like the way the players prioritize their learning and their love for volleyball as individuals, it’s also important for them to take their future and financial stability seriously. It’s not just about the benefits that Allianz generously provides, but also about the wealth of knowledge in financial products that it shares with the team,” Delfino said.

The players themselves said the partnership between their teams and AZPNBL is game-changing. Creamline starter Michelle Gumabao candidly talked about the protection and peace of mind offered by the eAZy Health package. “The very basic insurance plans don’t cover a lot of things. Now we have coverage that goes as far as death and critical illness,” she said. “We can rest easier now because we have these kinds of benefits. I have been in the pro league for 11 years already, and no matter how careful we are, we don’t know what will happen in the future. It is reassuring that we are covered no matter what happens. I can play more confidently because we have a guarantee that we will be protected, and there will be help in case of an accident or injury.”

Choco Mucho team captain Maddie Madayag expressed a similar sentiment: “Life happens, and you never know what can come and how much it’s going to cost you. In a snap you may be facing a health issue. It is very reassuring to have this kind of protection. I’m grateful that Allianz PNB Life introduced us to insurance.”

Creamline star Bea De Leon added: “It’s very reassuring to have this kind of coverage because you know you won’t be a burden to your family [if something happens]. It is important for us as athletes that we live our lives thinking of our health, so I am thankful to Allianz PNB Life for the eAZy Health coverage. It allows us to continue doing what we love to do, with less worries. Knowing that you will be protected even as things might change in the future gives you peace of mind.”

For more information, visit www.allianzpblife.ph.

Read more: Postscript to the Paris Olympics: The games at home

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When Hidilyn Diaz came home a gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, then President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration scrambled to make the most of the moment. They mounted an online courtesy call in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic in which they promised Diaz a house and lot in Zamboanga City and P3 million, apart from the cash incentives guaranteed under Republic Act No. 10699. 

In that same courtesy call, Duterte’s message to Diaz included thanks and a request to forget (an apparent reference to the Palace’s adverse reaction to her call for public assistance for her training): “We are extremely proud… pero salamat naman sa pagtitiis mo. I hope that the years of toil, the years of disappointments, and the years na hindi maganda nangyari in the past, we will just forget them. You already have the gold. Gold is gold and it would be good for you to just let bygones be bygones.”

Sports appreciation in the Philippines has largely been kept within the lenses of entertainment, an opiate, showbiz’s distant cousin, and hardly a celebration of the human physique, strength, and determination. Only a few hours after Carlos Yulo’s first gold medal win, social media platforms were already pumped with vitriol over the drama between him and his mother. The posts had little to do with gymnastics, Yulo’s brilliance, or sports, for that matter. (If there were any, they were directed against basketball, for which the Philippines didn’t even qualify to join the Olympics competition. Ironically, while the limelight shone on gymnastics, these posts alleged that we pay too much attention to basketball… because we short folk, un-ironically, believe that we are tall enough to contend with the likes of Nikola Jokic.)  

In Paris, the Philippines would go on to win two bronze medals in boxing care of Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas’ fists, pole vaulter EJ Obiena would apologize for a beautiful 5.90m leap, and Bianca Pagdanganan would swing valiantly to fourth place in golf. And yet public attention would still be glued to the Yulo household, the royal rumble having now recruited Yulo’s girlfriend Chloe San Jose and his mother’s lawyer Raymond Fortun into the ring. Over social media’s thin veneer of appearances and impressions, “netizens” (a cumbersome word) would chime in at length on the tangentially related topics that media’s laser focus on their personal lives had managed to unearth. But I would argue that this problem is beyond the media, and Filipinos do little to understand sports simply and precisely because we want little to do with sports.

2022 study 

There was an important study that fell between the cracks: “Results from the Philippines’ 2022 report card on physical activity for children and adolescents,” published in October 2022 by the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness. The 9-page paper, citations included, was written by 16 scholars—15 from different colleges of the University of the Philippines (Diliman and Manila) and one from the Education University of Hong Kong. It was intended to “provide a comprehensive assessment of physical activity and other related behaviors, including the various factors and settings that influence these behaviors.” 

After the identification and review of the “best available nationally representative data,” grades were assigned to five indicators: “F” in overall physical activity, “D” in active transportation, “B” in sedentary behavior, “C-“ in school, and “B” in government. The study’s conclusion was that “despite government policies related to physical activity in the country, the majority of children and adolescents in the Philippines do not meet the recommended amount of physical activity for health.”

Even with the paper’s bleak assessments, I enjoyed reading it because of the way it was able to triangulate its analyses and arrive at its conclusion. It was holistic, and its view of sports and exercise was one which included day-to-day movement, taking a snapshot of a sizeable population over an expanded period; it was not just spurred by the occasional medal finish or close fight. 

The primordial mistake we are making in understanding and appreciating sports is how, over the past decades, we do not go beyond seeing them only in terms of their rewards, as tickets out of poverty, or a promise of heaven after a long and difficult life. Anything less difficult, or anything less rewarding, and we no longer see sports as good or worthy. 

When Diaz lifted us to a gold medal in 2021, the dire lack of funding and political patronage in the Philippine Sports Commission became the subject of Atom Araullo’s two-part report for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. But we hardly followed this through, the slapdash solution being only more funding from more private donors. And when the grandmaster Wesley So became an American citizen in February 2021, the focus remained on his personality—some would note his choice for a “better life” in the United States—and not on his genius and hard work as a winner of many chess championships. And, of course, Manny Pacquiao’s boxing defeats after being KO’d hard by Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as his countless falls from grace in politics, could do nothing to tarnish his rags-to-riches story. 

Different view

For a long time now, we’ve been viewing sports only as a linear progression, as if they’re the proverbial tests in many of our folk legends.

There must be a way to view sports differently. In following this one-dimensional narrative template for sports—in which athletes can only win or lose—we have lent a lot of room for corruption and other evils to be seen as mere hurdles to overcome. Or, worse, all these wrongs become default conditions which athletes must simply accept should they want to achieve greatness in their sport. But we can gain so much from more detailed and more complex readings into sports.

We must move toward making these sports easier to understand. One of the remarkable things in Yulo’s two gold medals is that they were won in events which required judges to look critically and to apply their technical expertise in floor exercises and vault gymnastics. In other words, these events can be said to be subjective, their scoring highly dependent on what the judges thought. We Filipinos are often allergic to these “subjectivities” and tend to cheer more for more quantifiable, points-based sports, like basketball or volleyball. But now, with Yulo’s win, we find that our subjective natures can be causes for celebration, too. Grace, timing, beauty, mystery, consistency, decisiveness in motion—all of these are often lost on us when we see only the reward aspect, only the supposed conclusions, of playing sports. 

All the medals have been awarded and the 2024 Olympics has finally ended. But what still interests people are the discussions it opened: the cultural clash in the Dionysian Bacchanalia aka reworking of the Last Supper, the colossal cyberbullying around Imane Khelif and her gold-medal finish, Rachael Gunn’s deliberate flopping and her mockery of breakdancing, the running titan Eliud Kipchoge’s DNF, and now, Carlos Yulo and how everyone just wants a piece of any of his two gold medals. Sports are at the core of all of these. 

Many would say that these are issues which are far from the gut and can hardly put food on the table. Yet there’s a way to see sports differently. Lest we forget, since forever, from the myth of Greek gods playing games in Olympia to the reality in front of us, sports have always been a way to make sense of our lives and a way to arrange the society we live in.

DLS Pineda is a member of the UP Mountaineers and an assistant professor at the Department of English and Comparative Literature – College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines Diliman.

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

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As if the first gold medal that he won in the floor exercise finals on Aug. 3 weren’t sufficiently historic, Yulo ruled the men’s artistic gymnastics vault finals for his second gold on Aug. 4. The feat marks him as the first Filipino to win multiple gold medals in one Olympic tournament.  

“Unbelievable. God is really great and I’m so blessed by Him,” Yulo said when asked about his thoughts on his achievement and being called “the greatest Filipino athlete.”  

He has successfully avenged his 2020 Olympic vault finals performance in Tokyo, where he missed the bronze with his fourth-place finish. He was edged out of the podium by Armenia’s Artur Davtyan—the very gymnast who came second to him in the event finals in Paris. 

Defining 1st vault

Yulo’s opening vault proved to be the key to his historic second Olympic gold, notching an astounding tournament-high score of 15.433. The vault’s difficulty was valued at 6.000—one of the only two 6.000 vaults in the tournament—with an execution score of 9.433.

This first vault was also different from his qualification one, which was valued at 5.600 in difficulty. The Filipino commentators noted that this crucial upgrade was essentially what made the second gold happen, alongside Yulo’s outstanding form and near-perfect landing.

Yulo’s execution of the first vault even led Filipino commentator and gymnastics judge Joy Valenton to call the gold even before his second vault. “I’m smelling a double gold,” Valenton said in the live broadcast.

The Manila native performed a Ri Se-gwang II (RSG2) vault for his opener, which is a double front salto in pike position with a half twist ender. It is essentially a Dragulescu vault—which most of his competitors performed—but in pike position instead of the tuck position for the added difficulty value of 0.400. 

This specific vault was named after Ri Se-gwang, a retired North Korean artistic gymnast who went on to specialize in the vault apparatus after he first performed it live at the 2008 Asian Games in Doha. The 2016 Olympics vault gold medalist has two eponymous skills named after him, the other one being the original Ri Se-gwang. 

2nd vault seals deal

With such a high-scoring first vault, Yulo only needed a safer yet still solid closing vault, which he delivered.

He chose his trusted Kasamatsu double twist with a difficulty value of 5.6, for which he garnered a score of 9.200 in execution, for a total second vault score of 14.800. 

The 24-year-old’s execution score noticeably took a hit due to some minor mistakes and inaccuracies. One error pointed out by the commentators was the slight collapse in form near the end, when he bent his knees. Additionally, he did not land as well as in his first vault, making a huge step instead of keeping his feet together. 

The Kasamatsu vault is named after Shigeru Kasamatsu, a Japanese gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. Interestingly, Kasamatsu has never won an Olympic gold in the vault apparatus. He was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2006.

The winning total

Taking the average of his two vaults, Yulo posted a vault total score of 15.116—his highest vault average in the Olympics. 

His score immediately catapulted him to first place with four more gymnasts yet to perform. He replaced the then score leader, Great Britain’s Harry Hepworth who scored a stunning 14.949 average as the second performer, and never looked back. 

Being the last performer of the event, Davtyan was the ultimate decider of who would end up with the prestigious medals, especially the highly coveted gold. In the end, Davtyan fell short of dethroning Yulo but grabbed the silver medal with an incredible 14.966 vault average. 

Unfortunately for Filipino British gymnast Jake Jarman, he was kicked off the podium into fourth place, with his teammate Hepworth settling for the bronze. Jarman would have claimed a double-bronze medal finish following his podium finish in the floor exercise finals alongside Yulo.

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

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Filipino gymnastics star Carlos Edriel Yulo delivered a dazzling 15.000 routine in the men’s floor exercise event finals for the Philippines’ first ever gold in artistic gymnastics at the Paris 2024 Olympics last Saturday, Aug. 3. 

With the historic win, the Manila native succeeded in his revenge tour in golden fashion, following a disappointing Tokyo 2020 Olympics bid where he narrowly missed a medal finish in vault at 4th place.

“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m feeling grateful for having this medal and for God. He protected me, as always,” Yulo said in an online interview. “He gave me the strength to get through this kind of performance and perform this well.”

Yulo now joins Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz as the two Olympic gold medalists in Philippine history. Diaz achieved her feat at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the 55kg category of women’s weightlifting. 

Other medal hopefuls

With the Philippines on the board in the medal tally, Filipinos are eagerly anticipating for more as several countrymen are one step away from securing a medal finish of their own.

Just hours before Yulo’s victory, EJ Obiena powered through a shaky start to book a ticket to the men’ pole vault finals. The world’s No. 2 cleared both 5.70m and 5.75m in first attempts after failing to overcome the much lower 5.60m bar twice.

“We missed two attempts at 60 and you wanna go at 70? And I haven’t made a bar. Are you sure?” Obiena said as he recalled his coach’s decision to quit the 5.60m and move up a pole with his tournament life on the line with his final attempt. 

It appeared that coach Vitaly Petrov made the right call as the 28-year-old pole vaulter overcame the higher pole with ease.

Carlo Paalam’s medal quest ended in a 2-3 split decision exit in the quarterfinals of men’s boxing 57kg division in the hands of Australian boxer Charlie Senior. 

Filipina boxers

Only two Filipina boxers are left vying for an Olympic medal in the sport. Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas reached the quarterfinals, leaving them with one more hurdle to clear for a medal finish. 

Petecio bested French home bet Amina Zidani in the last two rounds of the bout for an eventual 4-1 split decision victory in the round of 16 of women’s 57kg division.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medalist decided to up the ante in the final two rounds after losing the first, 2-3, in the judges’ score cards. With a much more dominant showing, she flipped the scores with a 5-0 Round 2 performance and a 3-2 final round to clinch the quarterfinals berth.

On the other hand, Villegas pulled off an upset over second seed Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria in yet another unanimous decision victory at the round of 16 women’s 50kg division.

The Tacloban City native outclassed the Algerian in the opening salvo as she quickly established the advantage early on with a 5-0 first round. After a wobbly 3-2 second round in favor of Boualam, Villegas made sure to close it out cleanly in the final round with a 5-0 beating to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals.

The golden routine

Carlos Yulo’s astounding performance netted him a score of 15.0, the only 15-point floor routine of the entire men’s artistic gymnastics tournament. 

Yulo, who performed third, quickly denied Israel’s Artem Dolgopya’s hopes of a back-to-back Olympic gold by pulling slightly ahead of the world champion’s 14.966 routine before him. 

Diving deep into the floor performance, the Filipino performed a much more difficult routine (6.600 d-score) from his qualification one (6.300 d-score). The new routine in Paris, however, was already unveiled by the gymnast in the all-around finals last July 31 where he scored 7.733 in execution—way lower than his impressive 8.4 e-score in this event final.

Level of difficulty

This change in difficulty level can be observed in Yulo’s upgraded second pass of a double twist into a double front tuck combination for the additional 0.3 d-score.

What also set him apart was his overall clean performance with exceptional landings—especially when he stuck his three-and-a-half twist dismount to seal the deal.

Being the third performer out of the eight finalists, Yulo cemented himself early at first place. The country eagerly sat at the edge of their seats.

The bronze medalist, Jake Jarman, was also met with congratulations and pride from the Filipinos due to him being a Filipino British gymnast. The son of a Cebuana native, the athlete representing the United Kingdom scored 14.933, only 0.033 lower than the silver medalist.

Carlos Yulo seeks to enact his revenge once more at the vault event finals on Aug. 4—the very event in which he almost won a medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

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The 32-year-old silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics schooled Lamboria, younger by 10 years, in all three rounds of the match in the 57kg division of women’s boxing for an eventual 5-0 drubbing. 

With the win, Petecio stood as the only Philippine team representative who survived the brutal Day 7 eliminations. She advances to the round of 16 and is two victories away from securing a medal finish.

Among the Filipino athletes who bowed out of their respective events was swimmer Kayla Sanchez, 23, a Tokyo Olympics medalist. She clocked a Philippine record of 53.67 in women’s swimming 100m freestyle at heat 4, placing her 10th overall going into the semifinals for the Top 16. 

But Sanchez failed to make it to the Top 8 in the finals, exiting the event in 15th place with a time of 54.21 seconds. 

Boxer Eumir Marcial, Petecio’s co-flag-bearer, also lost his chance for a back-to-back Olympic medal finish after suffering an upset loss to Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev in the men’s boxing 80kg division. 

Khabibullaev, 20, seemed too fierce an underdog for Marcial, 28, a bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics. The Filipino struggled to keep up in scoring in the first two rounds, and the Uzbek’s commanding lead proved to be insurmountable as the bout ended in a unanimous decision. 

Rower Joanie Delgaco also lost her chance for an Olympic medal, placing sixth in the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls with a time of 7 minutes 58.30 seconds. She reached the round via repechage, clocking 7 minutes 55 seconds—the fastest time among her competitors. 

Filipino Japanese judoka Kiyomi Watanabe’s Olympic stint was cut short in the opening match, losing to the world’s No. 22 Tang Jing of China via a 20-second pin in women’s judo 63k division.

Height, reach disadvantage

Despite the glaring height and reach disadvantage, the 5-foot-2 Petecio made full use of her speed advantage over the 5-foot-9 Lamboria. She weaved through the Indian’s punches while consistently landing her own to mount her lead early into the fight. 

Her corner could be heard saying in Filipino during the first- round break: “What you’re doing is right. Just don’t get complacent.”  

Petecio’s deep understanding of distance and defense was evident in her head movements and counterpunches, which prevented Lamboria from scoring effectively and seizing the lead.

The judges scored 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of the fighter from Davao.

Petecio returns to action on Aug. 3, when she faces the host country’s representative and reigning European Games champion, Amina Zidani, in the round of 16.

Read more: Quest for gold: Paris is boxer Nesthy Petecio’s ‘final mission’

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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.

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