SENATE President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada filed resolutions conferring Carlos Yulo with the Senate Medal of Excellence, the highest expression of national appreciation for his outstanding achievement of being the first-ever Filipino athlete to win two gold medals in the Olympics.
“Yulo’s outstanding achievement at the world’s biggest sporting event should be celebrated by the entire nation as it is a testament to the excellent skill and unyielding spirit of the Filipinos. His glorious success is a shining example of what hard work, discipline, perseverance, and commitment to excellence can accomplish,” Estrada said in his Senate Resolution No. 1103.
Estrada said Yulo’s outstanding performances in various international competitions consistently demonstrate his expertise in the sport, prolific artistry, and resilience.
He added that the world-class gymnast has brought immense pride, joy, and honor to the Filipino nation, truly deserving of the Senate’s highest commendation.
Before his historic achievement in the Paris Olympics, Yulo had already become a two-time world champion. He won gold medals in the men’s vault event at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan in 2021, and in the men’s floor exercise in Stuttgart, Germany in 2019.
Dubbed as the “Golden Boy,” he has won the Asian championship ten times and the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games nine times.
Yulo is the second Filipino to ever win an Olympic gold medal, after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Furthermore, he is the first Filipino athlete to win multiple medals in a single Summer Games appearance.
Yulo cemented himself as one of the most successful and accomplished athletes in Philippine sports, rightfully earning his spot in the pantheon of the nation’s greatest sports heroes, said Estrada.
Approved on August 23, 2021, Senate Resolution No. 110 created the Philippine Senate Medal of Excellence. This medal is intended to express the nation’s gratitude to Filipinos for their exceptional achievements and the honor they have brought to the country, such as an Olympic medal.
The 24-year-old decorated gymnast from Manila is the first Filipino to win a gold medal in the ongoing Summer Olympics in Paris, ruling the men’s artistic floor exercise finals in Bercy Arena on August 3, 2024, Estrada said in a separate Senate Resolution No. 1098.
Yulo bagged another gold medal in the men’s artistic gymnastics vault finals the following day, besting competitors from Armenia, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Ukraine, and Iran.
His back-to-back win significantly elevated the Philippines’ standing in the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad from rank 32nd to the top 19 best-performing country as of August 4, 2024.