Yulo gold seals a first for PH in long Games participation
Carlos Yulo’s golden moment in gymnastics and the sure medal finish of boxer Aira Villegas have secured another first for the Philippines in its century-long Olympic participation.
Never has the country produced more than one medal in back-to-back Olympics until the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo edition three years ago, which saw weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz break through with the first gold medal and the ongoing Paris Games where Yulo won the men’s floor exercise.
Villegas reached the semifinals of the women’s 50-kilogram category hours after Yulo got the job done, assuring a repeat scenario from Tokyo that had the Philippines pocket Diaz’s gold plus three medals—silvers from Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam and one bronze from fellow slugger Eumir Marcial.
It will also be the third time that the Philippines has gotten multiple medals in a single Olympics. Swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, boxer Jose Villanueva and high jumper Simeon Toribio won a bronze each in the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
The Philippines also won a medal for the third consecutive Olympics, a period that began with Diaz’s silver finish in Rio in 2016, marking the third time that the Philippines has done it in the cycle.
First streak
The first was from the period of the 1928 Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles and 1936 Berlin Olympics with a combined haul of five bronzes. Yldefonso was the country’s first medalist during the 1928 edition while Miguel White placed third in the men’s 400-meter hurdles in 1936.
It was the boxers who achieved the similar feat in the 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Games. Leopoldo Serantes and Roel Velasco claimed bronze medals in 1988 and 1992, respectively.
Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco came close to a gold in 1996, settling for a silver after his highly disputed loss in the final to Bulgaria’s Daniel Petrov.
The last three Olympics have seen the Philippines secure a total of seven medals, including the pending one from Villegas.
And there could possibly be more before the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, with Yulo slated to take another crack in men’s vault and Petecio in the quarterfinals of her women’s featherweight class, both at press time, and EJ Obiena in men’s pole vault.
Seven is a remarkable haul considering that the Philippines had a total of nine between its Olympic debut in 1924 until 2016, which probably changes the old trend of being satisfied with seeing a Filipino athlete get one medal at a single Olympics, regardless of color outside of gold.
