When Carlos Yulo got a scholarship to Japan, he and his family seemed overly excited. However, things soon took a wild turn as Yulo had some serious fallout with his coach, Munehiro Kugimiya. Going solo, Yulo hit rock bottom when he lost at the 2023 World Championships in a humiliating manner. But the Philippine athlete was not the one to be deterred by success. Instead, Yulo traveled almost all over the world to train with top gymnastics prospects and honing his crafts for the Paris Olympics. For the uninitiated, Yulo traveled back and forth between Great Britain, South Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. 

Well, when someone puts in all the effort, overlooking every pain and struggle, even the Almighty starts to support their cause. Likewise, when the Paris Olympics approached, Carlos Yulo ended up going atop the podium not once but twice! Initially, Yulo notched up 15.000 on the floor to win the first gymnastics gold for the Philippines in Olympic history. And as if that was not enough, Yulo once again took the top spot with an impressive score of 15.116 to etch his name into the history books forever. Following his exceptional triumph, Yulo has, quite expectedly, received a hero’s welcome in his homeland of the Philippines. But the extent of his feats has trickled outside of his homeland too, getting him honored in Japan. 

Carlos Yulo gets his flowers in Japan

Moving to Japan at a very young age, Carlos Yulo spent a major chunk of his developmental phase in the Land of the Rising Sun. Honing his skills for seven years straight in Tokyo, Yulo developed a strong bond with the roots of Japan. Thus, it was no surprise when Yulo was called in at the Japanese Embassy residence in Makati by Ambassador Endo Kazuya. The meet-up included a ceremony, which was followed by a sumptuous, 6-course dinner prepared exclusively by the in-house chef. 

Overwhelmed at the honors and hospitality received from Japan, Yulo stated, “Japan is really special to my heart… Japan really helped me to push my gymnastics, and of course my personality as well… I’m really grateful for the people that I met there and all the things I learned, like skosh their culture, how they speak, how they move. I’m really grateful for that.” Indeed, the people of Japan too have some real soft corners for Yulo. For example, the wife of the Japanese ambassador, Madame Aikiko Endo, personally designed a flower arrangement imitating the Olympic rings to make Yulo feel special. 

And while Yulo excitedly went back to Japan after his Olympic heroics, his home country, the Philippines, came up with a host of gifts to shower the champion with. Right after Yulo created history by winning two Olympic gold medals, the Philippine government announced a monetary reward of 10 million Philippine pesos. This amount, when converted into dollars,, comes to roughly around $172,519! Well, this was not all. Yulo also received a three-bedroom condo worth almost $553,997. He was also awarded a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado from Toyota Motors Philippines as a token of appreciation for his great deed. 

Now, with the list of gifts already looking quite enough, wait till you take a look at all the remaining gifts that Carlos Yulo received from the Philippines. They were as follows: 

• A lifetime supply of ramen from Hagemu Sushi and Ramen Bar
• A lifetime supply of buffets from Vikings Luxury Buffet
• A vault and furniture worth $1,700 from Apollo Home Depot
• An endless supply of cookies from Cookies by the Bucket
• A cash incentive from the Philippine House of Representatives
• Free headlights and fog lights
• Free medical consultation after he turns 45
• A free wedding photographer

Surely, Carlos Yulo seems to be living the life of his dreams. But things were not so rosy even after his historic triumph. The Olympic champion’s mother almost disowned her son as she did not like Yulo’s girlfriend. 

Carlos Yulo opened up on rift with his mother

Following his Olympic triumph, Carlos Yulo recorded a video on TikTok that had some gruesome allegations. Speaking about his mother, Angelica Yulo, Carlos stated that she was not very fond of his girlfriend, Chloe Anjeleigh San Jose. The rift between the two started when the gymnast left Japan to settle with his girlfriend in Tokyo. Detailing the tensions between the two, Carlos pointed out that, coming from a different cultural background, San Jose’s choice of attire was expectedly different than that of the Philippine people. This was something that did not sit well with Angelica Yulo.

But things did not stop there. Making some shocking revelations on the TikTok video, Carlos accused his mother of draining money from his bank account. The 2x Olympic gold medalist stated, “Apart from the incentives, my mom also had access to my bank account and my monthly allowances for gymnastics. When I finally got control of that bank account, I found out she had been draining it. I have the bank statements showing the withdrawals she made.” Countering the allegations, Angelica did admit to taking money from her son’s account. 

However, she stated that it was for Carlos’ safety, as she was concerned that the gymnast might run out of money in the future. However, later on, Angelica apologized for her actions, and things seem to be settled now. Thus, putting aside all the negativities, the showering of love and support from his hometown and beyond is a clear indication of Carlos Yulo’s status as a true gymnastics legend.