Unknown to many that Olympic gold medalist Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo started training at a tender of seven years old. He competed in school meets and shared happily his experience of failing to win in the Palarong Pambansa in 2009 at the age of nine years. He admitted of not having enough training and preparation when he represented the National Capital Region that year.
But he continued pursuing his dream of becoming an Olympic gold medalist someday. He had the support of his family starting from his grandfather who noticed his tumbling skills and brought him to a gymnastics tryout the Rizal Memorial Coliseum where he got the chance to observe other gymnasts. He was then introduced to the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines where he got formal training. It is perhaps an advantage that their family live in Malate, Ermita which is near to the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Since he began competing in the sport of his passion, he had won many medals from here and abroad. In his life story on the internet, his siblings where also into gymnastics which his sister was a member of the pep squad. This shows how their family was active in sports and athletics. They all got the support of their parents, chiefly their father Mark Andrew Yulo. Indeed, the support of his parents was vital in his journey to achieve his childhood dream.
He got a break in 2016, he got a scholarship from the Japanese Olympic Committee, a country known for its great gymnasts. The opportunity saw him moving to Japan in 2017 and got formal training from coach Munehiro Kujimiya. It was in Japan where he got the opportunity to pursue his college education. He eventually earned an associate degree in literature from the renowned Teikyo University in Tokyo. His stint in Japan was supported by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and the Japan Gymnastics Association.
Like other families, theirs was not a perfect one as they too have their share of misunderstand and conflicts. The family problem caught many people by surprise, many expressing their support to Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo who at one time ran into conflict with his mother and sister. Reports on social media platforms bared the money owned by Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo was spent by his sister and mother without his consent. That caused the misunderstanding as the personal funds of Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo were hard-earned money from his winnings. Amid the challenges and family problems with his sister and mother Angelica Poquiz Yulo, he was never distracted from attaining his childhood dream.
With great motivation from his first gold medal, Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo went on to win his second Olympic gold medal by garnering as score of 5.6 for difficulty, 9.20 for execution, 15.433 for vault 1, 14.800 for vault 2 with 0.0 penalty for a total score of 15.116 in the artistic vault category. That placed him in the annals of our country’s history as the one Filipino to win two gold medals in this year’s Parish Olympics, winning a second gold as his shining golden moment.
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