Hidilyn Diaz gladly welcomes Carlos Yulo to the ulta-exclusive circle of Filipino Olympic medalists following his back-to-back victories in the gymnastics competition of the Summer Games over the weekend.

Diaz, the country’s first ever Olympic gold medalist, congratulated Yulo, saying that he is proud of him for overcoming all the hardships he went through.

“Congratulations ulit Caloy. Ang galing!” Diaz said in a social media post.

“I am proud of you not only for your medals but for the hardships you went through to achieve success for yourself and, more importantly, for the nation.”

Like Diaz, Yulo also came from a poor family who worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices until becoming successful in the international arena.

He started to compete early until landing a scholarship to train and study in Japan when he was 14 years old.

Under the guidance of Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya, Yulo became a gymnastics powerhouse, winning the world title in floor exercise in 2019 and vault in 2021.

He, however, had a forgettable performance in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, but he used the setback as a motivation to work hard and prepare for the Paris Olympics.

In Paris, his star power shone even brighter as he ruled the floor exercise on Saturday and the vault on Sunday, making him the greatest Filipino athlete to compete in the Summer Olympics.

Diaz couldn’t help but be proud of the achievement of Yulo.

“See you there, Caloy and a tight hug from your Ate Haidie. God bless you!” She said.