“Filipinos all over the world stood united, cheering and rooting for you,” said Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Carlos Yulo after his terrific Paris Olympics performance. Winning two Olympic gold medals is an impressive feat. However, achieving this for a country that had previously won only one gold medal in its entire history is an accomplishment of monumental significance. Carlos Yulo can take pride in achieving this milestone, which is why he is being celebrated throughout the nation.

Everybody in his country wants to shower him with gifts and money and can’t thank him enough! But, as a sportsperson, Carlos Yulo has his own responsibilities. He wants to mold more athletes so that once he retires, they can carry on his mantle and bring in more Olympic golds for the nation. To ensure that happens, Carlos wants to take certain steps.

Carlos Yulo wants to set up training camps in the Philippines to create a better sporting culture

Carlos Yulo is planning to organize training camps for the students of the National Academy of Sports in Capas, Tarlac. He visited the campus on October 7th for the first time. “I would love to visit and do training camps with the students. I can also do cross-training in different sports because I need that experience as an athlete,” he said, talking to rappler.com. Carlos said that he will be able to impart knowledge that he gained during his stay in Japan, his experiences winning top competitions, and his struggles.

Through this process, he believes he himself will grow as an athlete too. Currently, nine out of the 229 students in the academy are enrolled in gymnastics. But Carlos Yulo’s presence could help that number skyrocket very quickly, given his superstardom in the country right now. A gymnastics center is also set to start working in the academy from next year, attracting new people. “I’m hoping and praying that there are a lot of student-athletes from here who can compete and see what the international level is,” said Carlos.

If his dream comes to fruition, it would be a game-changer for a country that has struggled to find significant sporting success beyond Carlos Yulo’s triumph. He has already committed $90,000 to an academy to upgrade their equipment, aiming to foster homegrown talent. By making this contribution, Yulo is also ensuring that future athletes won’t have to leave their country to pursue the sport they love, as he once did.

Carlos Yulo’s brave move to Japan left him feeling homesick

Carlos Yulo moved to Japan at 16 on a full scholarship to train under coach Munehiro Kugimiya. Though the opportunity seemed too good to pass up, Carlos initially struggled with the transition. He faced challenges adapting to the language and culture, making it difficult for him to connect with people. Despite these obstacles, his determination and commitment to gymnastics kept him focused on his goals, eventually leading to his success.

Thus, he struggled to live there. He talked about the whole situation in an interview with Toni Gonzaga Studio. The Olympic gold medalist said, “I went to Japan for training. That’s when another level of difficulty started in my life. I can say that it was one of the things that made me strong.” Carlos continued saying that was far from anything he knew. “I didn’t know English; I didn’t know their language. I didn’t know their culture,” he said. His coach, looking at his suffering, decided to give him a chance to leave and offered him a ticket back to the Philippines.