Filipino gymnast who won 2 Olympic golds in Paris gets hero's welcome and free buffets for life

AP:  MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo, who won two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, flew home to a hero’s welcome Tuesday with a nationally televised tribute by the president and donors pledging more than $1 million worth of cash and gifts, including a resort house and free lunch buffets for life.

The 24-year-old’s wins in the men’s floor exercise and vault were the largest victory ever by a Filipino athlete since the Philippines joined the Games a century ago. Two Filipino boxers, Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, won bronze medals in women’s boxing in Paris.

The euphoria over Yulo's wins has provided a respite for a nation long ridden with poverty, deep divisions and conflicts. Arriving in Manila, Yulo and the other Filipino athletes who participated were welcomed by flag-waving admirers who reached out for handshakes and took selfies.

Wearing his gold medals, Yulo thanked all who supported the athletes. “I am beyond blessed and grateful,” he told reporters.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gave the athletes presidential citations and a million pesos ($17,500) each. But Yulo got 20 million pesos ($350,000) from Marcos, who acknowledged the difficulties the athletes went through with “no official technical support from the government,” a longstanding complaint.

“They did it on their own. Of course, there are some who helped, sometimes the government is able to help, but there is no formal structure to help our athletes," Marcos said, and promised to fix it.

Cash and gifts pledged separately by other government offices, business tycoons and leading Philippine corporations for Yulo include a condominium unit and a resort house south of Manila, amounting to more than 58 million pesos ($1 million). Prominent companies offered free pizzas, ice cream and lunch and dinner buffets for life, along with free domestic and international flights.

Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, who rose to global fame for winning titles in eight weight classes and for his rags-to-riches life story, promised to reward Yulo with an unspecified amount of cash.

A celebratory parade for the athletes on Wednesday along Manila’s main streets is expected to draw thousands of people. It will pass near a poor community where Yulo grew up and first trained in gymnastics with his siblings in a public gym, where a coach noticed the impressive skills of the then-7-year-old.

"I’ll welcome him with a hug and we’ll jump together in joy,” Rodrigo Frisco, a 74-year-old relative, told The Associated Press in the neighborhood where the gold medalist has become a poster boy for hope. “Who would believe that these narrow alleys and small houses would produce a champion?”

Posters with images of a smiling Yulo after his Olympic triumphs were displayed on electric posts at the entrance to his congested neighborhood and along nearby streets.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz clinched the first-ever Olympic gold for the Philippines in Tokyo in 2021.