In the course of our Olympic history, there are only three Filipinos who have won medals in back-to-back Olympics.
Teofilo Yldefonso, a brilliant swimmer who lost his life defending the country in World War II, won consecutive bronze finishes in 1928 and 1932. And then, Hidilyn Diaz won a silver medal in 2016 and then gave the country its first gold medal in 2021.
Nesthy Petecio joins this elite crew for her silver finish in the 2020 Tokyo Games and Paris.
Her Paris medal?
TO BE DETERMINED.
Meanwhile, Jose and Cely Villanueva became the first father and son winners of the country when Jose won a bronze medal in men’s bantamweight boxing in 1932 while Anthony won it 32 years later in men’s featherweight boxing. Roel and Mansueto also became the country’s first sibling tandem to medal in the Olympics with the former winning it in 1992 and Onyok getting the silver medal in 1996.
We need to remember our history for us to move forward. From Simeon Toribio, Miguel White, and Leopoldo Serrantes, to Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial, and prize waiting for Aira Villegas. These trailblazers paved the way for our current flock of medal hunters.
Carlos Yulo is not part of the back-to-back winners as of this moment. Karl Eldrew Yulo could help Caloy join the brother winners department, but this is going to take time.
But Carlos Yulo is on a different part of our Olympic history.
He is our first and only two-time Olympic gold medal winner.
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
His back-to-back could give the country its first top-20 finish in the history of the games. At the moment, we are tied with Serbia and Azerbaijan for 19th place. However, we could go as high as 11th or as low as 17th because we still have Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas. Armand Duplantis may be a monster in the pole vault scene, but EJ Obiena could probably be the only person aside from Sam Kendricks to upstage the Swede. And then there are the golfers and the weightlifters.
Paris has been awesome for us.
It must be the food and water.
And no, I am not kidding here.
While most of the first-world countries are playing savior with their ideologies, the unbothered countries are trying their best to pull the wins from them. With a week left in the competition, the superpowers have yet to find their mark.
The United States has only 15 gold medals as of the moment. Meanwhile, South Korea has almost doubled their gold haul in the 2000 Games from 6 to 10. Japan might have been the host country in 2021, but from 27 golds, they have eight now. Sure, this is down from their previous showing, but that’s because they have the perks of the host country back then. Coming in at seventh place despite the situation is a positive mark.
And how can we forget about China?
For some reason, the Asians are lording over the Euros and the Americans.
While one would say, the thing with us is only because of Yulo’s two gold medals, and I guess for me, that’s the key. We got it right by sending Yulo AND Levi Jung-Ruivivar, Emma Malabuyo, and Aleah Finnegan. The thing about gymnastics is that we can have two representatives in the all-around event, and the rest can just do their best in the other disciplines. Yulo could have represented eight events if you think about it. With Yulo’s success maybe the other Yulo, Jake Jarman, and a couple of gymnast upstarts would pave the way for a powerhouse squad in Los Angeles.
2024 has been historical for the Philippines. It was so historical that even the qualifying tournaments were getting attention. This is almost as synonymous with what Korea has. If you check out some of their variety shows, they place their sports heroes in high regard. Physical 100 is an example of even the dudes from the World Firefighter Championships getting the recognition as if it’s a major spectacle.
We have now made history and now it’s time to maintain it. 2024 is still a work in progress and now we should prepare for 2028. At this point, Obiena, Marcial, and Villegas are now in their 30s with Diaz and Petecio already retired. Carlo Paalam would be 30 at that time and Yulo would be by then 28. Elreen Ando will be 29 by then while Vanessa Sarno is at 24. Trailblazing women Joanie Delgaco and Sam Catantan will be 30 and 26, respectively.
Disregarding injuries, we need to prepare for 2028 when everyone is at a high.