How did the Philippines train the talent Carlos Yulo?

With 2 Olympic gold medals, Carlos Yulo is considered one of the best athletes in the history of Southeast Asian sports.

Carlos Yulo shines at the Olympics – Photo: REUTERS

And his success story became emblematic of the Philippines – a country heavily influenced by America.

Carlos Yulo was born on February 16, 2000, into a middle-class family with a father who worked for a travel agency, a mother who was a housewife and four siblings.

The power of school sports

Carlos Yulo stands next to Le Thanh Tung (left) and Dinh Phuong Thanh (right) at the SEA Games – Photo: DUC KHUE

Gymnastics is known as a rigorous sport, forcing young athletes from the age of 4 – 5. But Yulo is different, it was not until he was 7 years old that he started practicing gymnastics. 

That was when Rodrigo Frisco, Yulo’s grandfather, noticed his grandson practicing at public gyms. Seeing Carlos’ potential, Mr. Frisco sought to introduce him to the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP).

And surprisingly, GAP experts recognized Yulo’s potential. Thanks to GAP, Yulo was arranged to study at Aurora A. Quezon – an elementary school with a strong sports movement. After only 1 year of training, this small boy’s talent exploded. 

Yulo has consistently achieved impressive results at Palarong Pambansa – the famous school sports festival in the Philippines. This is a tournament system under the management of the Philippine Department of Education, considered the foundation of the country’s strong school sports movement.

After graduating from elementary school, Yulo continued to be arranged by GAP to attend Adamson University High School. This is a Catholic school with a long tradition, designed by the US and ranked in the top 5 universities in the Philippines. 

More importantly, Adamson is a flagship school for the Philippine student sports movement and has produced many pillars in the national teams of basketball, volleyball, etc.

The United States is known for its NCAA, the collegiate sports league system that produces Olympic champions, and the Philippines has a similar structure for its collegiate sports with the UAAP. For years, Filipino athletes have been accustomed to receiving scholarships to top sports schools. 

Their UAAP system spans from college down to high school, giving Yulo early exposure to professional training at Adamson’s high school.

At the age of 16, Yulo’s career took a new turn when he received a scholarship to Teikyo University in Japan, a result of the relationship between GAP and the Japan Athletics Association. Here, Yulo graduated from the literature department and began to expand his reach to the continental level.

Carlos Yulo won 2 gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics – Photo: REUTERS

The Power of Cutting-Edge Investing

Carlos Yulo’s path to fame is marked by school sports and socialization strategies. Thanks to GAP, the small gymnast received consecutive scholarships to prestigious schools with strong sports training traditions. 

As Yulo became a star, he continued to receive sponsorship through MVP – the Philippines’ sports talent development fund.

In 2019, when Yulo won his first SEA Games gold medal in his career, he received a sponsorship of more than 50,000 USD (1.2 billion VND) through MVP. 

Since then, every year Yulo has received tens of thousands of dollars in sponsorship after each of his achievements in major tournaments such as the Asian tournament, world tournament… 

With the strong financial strength of MVP, Carlos Yulo has never lacked opportunities to participate in major world-class tournaments or foreign training trips. In 2023 alone, Yulo participated in three World Cup tournaments in Baku, Doha and Cottbus. 

The more he competes, the higher his level becomes. Before shining at the Olympics, Yulo shone at the World Championships, winning consecutive gold medals in 2019 and 2021.

After the miracle in Paris 2024 , a rain of bonuses came to Yulo with real estate, cars and cash, with a total value that could reach millions of USD. 

The small guy (Yulo is only 1.5m tall) has a fulfilling career thanks to his tireless efforts, and Philippine sports also reaped sweet rewards from a standard school sports strategy and spearhead investment.