When gymnast Carlos Yulo fizzled out in the Tokyo Olympics, only one person kept the faith, believing that he can bounce back and deliver a historic performance in the next Summer Games in Paris.

Her name: Cynthia Carrion.

Carrion has been a firm believer of Yulo’s ability to shine on the big stage even when he was still a shy, unassuming kid who was brought by his grandfather, Rodrigo Frisco, to train at the old gymnastics gym inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

The Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president said she knew that Yulo has what it takes to become a world champion and, perhaps, the greatest Filipino athlete ever together with the giants of Philippine sports like Hidilyn Diaz, Rafael Nepomuceno, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde and Manny Pacquiao.

It was Carrion who is considered as the starmaker, the architect of Yulo’s tremendous success.

She said she already saw Yulo’s potential when he was still dominating the Palarong Pambansa for the National Capital Region.

With that, she pulled some strings in the international gymnastics community until she got connected with the Japan Gymnastics Association, which endorsed Yulo to noted Japanese mentor Munehiro Kugimiya for training.

With Kugimiya handling his affairs in his homebase in Tokyo, Yulo became a gymnastics powerhouse, winning the gold medals in the World Artistic Gymnastics in Germany in 2019 and Japan in 2021.

He also scooped 10 gold medals in the Asian and nine mints in the Southeast Asian levels.

Carrion said everything wasn’t easy.

Although she’s a former Philippine Sports commissioner and Tourism undersecretary, she still had to dig deep into her pocket to sustain Yulo’s training and studies at the Teikyo University in the Japanese capital.

Eventually, the private sector came in and helped the federation cover Yulo’s expenses as well as the establishment of a gymnastics facility that will serve as the breeding ground of young Filipino gymnasts.

“I went to Ricky Vargas. Vargas listened to me and I told him, ‘Ricky, I promise you someday he will win a gold medal, give me the money!’ So they said, ‘okay, okay, okay,’” Carrion said, recalling his fateful conversation with ranking PLDT executive Ricky Vargas, the right hand guy of industrialist Manny Pangilinan.

“He said ‘I’ll talk to Manny Pangilinan,’ and Manny Pangilinan came through. We signed the contract, and he was giving us money all the time.”

Despite having support, Yulo still encountered a lot of challenges, including his bitter separation with his coach, Kugimiya around last year.

Carrion stressed that with the Japanese guru no longer around, Yulo had to “coach himself” by applying the techniques and routines he learned during their long time together.

Carrion also forged relationships with other gymnastics federations that made it easier to send Yulo to various countries for training camps and competitions.

“Back then, he was already copying what the other athletes were doing and he didn’t have a coach,” Carrion said.

Their sacrifices eventually paid off in Paris.

With Yulo struggling to get his training program off the ground due to the absence of Kugimiya, nobody believed that he could bounce back and surpass Diaz’s previous performance of giving the country a gold medal.

But Carrion’s faith in her ward didn’t waver.

“He’ll win one gold medal in floor exercise, preferably two because he also has good chances in vault,” the gymnastics chief said, days before Yulo formally competes in the Summer Games.

Her prediction turned out to be accurate as Yulo captured two gold medals in Paris, completely transforming him from a shy, unassuming boy from the poor district of Leveriza into a celebrity with a pretty girlfriend in tow.

Now, all eyes are on Yulo with the media following him everywhere he goes from the corporate offices of his sponsors to the halls of Senate and Malacañang.

At one point, he had a one-on-one discussion with no less than President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and is now often seen on social media hanging out with actors and actresses, sparking speculations that he will soon enter the entertainment industry.

He is now a wealthy man with money that is no less than P130 million, a sparkling three-bedroom apartment at the heart of the country’s most upscale district and a fleet of cars, including a ruggedly handsome sports utility vehicle that is fit only for a king.

Truly, Yulo’s life had completely changed.

But behind the glitz and glamor of fame and wealth stands one woman who is genuinely happy with all the success he is now enjoying.

Her name: Cynthia Carrion.