Diaz tells Yulo: Enjoy fruits of your labor

MANILA, Philippines — Millions of Filipinos stayed up late Saturday, glued to all available platforms, live and on-demand, to witness history – or not.

The gamble, and the wait, paid off as Carlos Yulo, thousands of miles away, did not disappoint in tumbling his way to the coveted gold in the floor exercise of the Paris Olympics men’s gymnastics.

Hailed as the greatest Filipino gymnast of all time with a bevy of titles in the Asian and world stage, Yulo became only the second Filipino Olympic gold medalist and first Southeast Asian gymnast to ever scale Mt. Olympus of sports.

Leading the toast was Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, whose gold medal in weightlifting in Tokyo in 2021 ended a long 97-year wait for the Philippines.

“Para sa iyo, Caloy. Proud ako sa iyo. I-enjoy mo ang bunga ng pinagpaguran mo,” beamed Diaz-Naranjo in the wee hours of Sunday when the Philippines was wide awake after Yulo secured his place in the books after a couple of misses and heartbreaks.

“At lagi mong ibabalik – sa Diyos at bayan – dahil lahat ng tagumpay natin ay hindi pansarili. Salamat sa lahat ng maganda at mabuting ginagawa at gagawin mo pa para sa Diyos at bayan. Congratulations,” she added.

“Nandito lang ang Ate Haidie mo para sa iyo lagi.”

It was only three years ago when Diaz-Naranjo finally shattered the floodgates for the sports-crazed Filipino nation, fueling the drive of local athletes.

It did not take long for a follow-up on that trail with Yulo, after a heartbreaking fourth-place finish in Tokyo to miss the podium by 0.017 points, taking care of business in the Philippines’ 100th anniversary of Olympic participation.

In Paris, even the members of the 22-strong Philippine delegation tuned in, either from the Athletes Village or at the venue proper, to Yulo’s golden leap.