WORLD champion gymnast Carlos Yulo will receive P.75 million in cash incentives from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for his remarkable performance in Japan over the weekend.
Yulo bagged the men’s vault at the 50th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships and will be rewarded P.5 million for the achievement. He clinched silver in the parallel bars for another P250,000 incentive.
PSC Chairman William Ramirez announced Yulo’s bonuses on Tuesday.
“He has bounced back and showed us all that he is still our world champion in gymnastics,” Ramirez said. “Yulo wasn’t able to defend his title in the men’s floor exercise finals but went on to claim two medals in other events.”
Yulo became the first Filipino multi-medal winner in the gymnastics world. He was the floor exercise world champion two years ago in Stuttgart, Germany, but missed retaining his title in Japan.
The cash incentives, Ramirez said, are being given to Yulo although the gymnastics world are not in accordance with the provisions and technical conditions of Republic Act no. 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.
The act does not recognize world championships that are held annually but Ramirez said the PSC board agreed to reward Yulo “ becaude of the special significance of his win.”
In 2019, the PSC also granted Yulo P.5 million incentives for winning medals in the 30th Southeast Asian Games and another P.5 million for qualifying to the Tokyo Olympics.
“Every incentive that he receives is well-deserved. By sheer will and determination, Caloy has created his own niche in the halls of Philippine Sports history.,” Ramirez said. “Caloy is truly an inspiration to our youth and Filipino athletes.”
PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), meanwhile, lauded Yulo for his achievement.
“Caloy has made us proud beyond words. From 2017, when we took him under our wings, we have witnessed his growth in strength and maturity through his discipline, grit and determination,” said Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications President and CEO. “We are with him all the way as he realizes his dream of making it to the 2024 Paris Olympics.”
“Caloy reflects what Filipino athletes are about—lumalaban nang buong puso para sa Pilipinas. We hope that his win inspires the Filipino youth, especially those who dream of becoming a world-class athlete,” added Panlilio, also the president of the MVP Sports Foundation and first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion, on the other hand, said sky is the limit for Yulo following his masterful performance in Kitakyushu over the weekend.
Carrion said the 21-year-old Yulo will go for more successes at the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games in May and Hangzhou 19th Asian Games in September—all of which are focused on his bid for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“No one can do it like him,” Carrion told the online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday.
In his next major competitions, Carrion said Yulo will go for the all-around gold medal, meaning he will have to compete in the pommel horse, horizontal bar and rings, which are not his favorite events.
“That’s why he has to train really, really hard,” Carrion told the weekly session presented by San Miguel Corp., Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Carrion said if things fall into place, she would see Yulo, who trains under Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya, winning multiple golds, including the all-around, in the next SEA Games, Asian Games and even in the Paris Olympics.
“We’re concentrating on these three [rings, pommel and horizontal bar]. We’re going for the overall [gold] in 2024 in Paris,” said Carrion of Yulo, who is still in Japan finishing his studies but will be going home for the holidays.
Yulo begged off from the forum because he had to be at school.
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