The Filipinos will be flying out of Paris on Monday clutching a pair of gold medals that outweigh all the heartbreaks they suffered in this very unforgettable edition of the Summer Olympics.
Carlos Yulo, a diminutive athlete from the poor district of Leveriza in Manila, defied great odds as he secured a pair of gold medals that brought so much joy, so much glory to sports-loving Filipinos.
His journey epitomizes the challenges every Filipino faces before achieving their dreams.
Despite a humiliating setback in the previous Olympics in Tokyo and a bitter separation with his father-figure in Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya, Yulo’s fighting spirit never wavered.
Instead, he campaigned internationally without a real mentor and joined other clubs and federations to gain competitive training as well as fresh feedback from world-class coaches and trainers.
Yulo eventually turned the loud Bercy Arena into his own stage, delivering routines that he knew by heart and mind, until finally securing a pair of gold medals that Filipinos never experienced before in their long and lonely journey to Olympic glory for nearly 100 years.
“Winning two gold medals took away all of my stress,” Yulo said shortly after completing his date with Philippine sports history.
“Today I was more chilled and relaxed. It helped me give it all because there was nothing to lose anymore. And that’s what happened. It’s so crazy, I don’t know what to feel right now.”
That’s why when Yulo arrives on Tuesday, two days after the curtains of the Paris Olympics formally fall down at the Stade de France, expect this grateful nation to shower him with love and adulation for making them proud in the world’s premier sporting event.
The City of Manila is preparing a hero’s welcome before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos personally congratulates him and other Filipino warriors in a lavish homecoming party at the Philippine International Convention Center.
There, he is expected to receive his cash incentive worth P20 million from the government on top of the rewards that will be given by the Chief Executive, lawmakers and the private sector, including real estate giant Megaworld Corporation that will give him a luxurious three-bedroom condominium unit worth P32 million with a cool P3 million in cash.
But Yulo’s feel-good story is just half of the narrative.
Behind the bright lights of the medal podium come the stories of heartbreaks and humiliation.
Ernest John Obiena, for one, burst into tears for letting his country down after falling short in the men’s pole vault event.
Obiena, the second-best pole vaulter in the world, struggled to breach the 5.95-meter mark, prompting him to tumble down to fourth place in the tournament greatly dominated by his erstwhile bitter rival Armand Duplantis of Sweden.
“I didn’t expect this to happen this year,” said Obiena, adding that a spine injury had slowed him down and reduced his chances of landing on the podium.
“But in sports, you’ll never know. We push ourselves, our bodies to the limit. It’s definitely been rough since right after the indoors (indoor season), even the indoors. Just things after things and things after things. It’s the reality of it.”
Also seeing their hearts getting crushed to a million pieces were the national boxers.
Eumir Marcial, the bronze medalist in the Tokyo Games, was the first to go when he bowed to Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan in the Round of 16 of the men’s 80-kg class.
Then, Olympic neophyte Hergie Bacyadan bombed out following a Round of 16 loss to Li Qian of China in the women’s 75-kg category.
Tokyo silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio also had disappointing finishes.
Paalam bowed to Charlie Senior of Australia in the quarterfinals of the men’s 57-kg event while Petecio advanced to the medal round before suffering a heartbreaking loss to 20-year-old Polish Julia Szeremeta in the women’s 57-kg event.
Petecio, who is probably in her last Olympic stint at 32 years old, couldn’t explain her setback to a young, untested European boxer.
“I thought it was going my way this time. I really believed that I would get it. But the win was not given to us,” Petecio said.
“I’m still thankful because I fought well.”
Just before hostilities of the Games come to a close, a Filipino golfer went on social media to reveal that they are playing with the Philippine flag taped on their chest after local sports officials failed to bring their official competition uniform.
Dottie Ardina voiced her frustrations, saying that they played their first three rounds of the women’s individual stroke play at the Le Golf National using uniforms that were bought in Paris.
“Sana all with uniforms,” she said while putting a double-sided tape on the Philippine flag that she will attach to her competition uniform.
“Kami lang ang wala. Kailangan bumili pa ng t-shirts. Dyos ko, ano bang klaseng Olympics ito?”
“Shout out naman dyan, sa mga nagbigay ng uniforms natin, saan na napunta? Dalawa na lang kami dito, 22 lang ang atleta, kulang-kulang pa.”
Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan are still competing in the fourth round at press time, hoping to deliver a medal that will give Team Philippines a strong finish in these Olympic Games.
But whatever happens, the Paris Olympics will go down as the most unforgettable sporting event for the Filipinos as it tested their skills, strength, grit and ability to rise after every fall.
Meanwhile, Yulo and Villegas have been tapped to carry the flag during the closing ceremonies on Sunday at Stade de France.