ROARING 2024

The Year of the Dragon, in Chinese beliefs, symbolizes honor, power, luck and success. For Philippine sports, 2024 meant all of the above.

- By THE STAR SPORTS STAFF

Carlos Yulo, a young gymnast who barely stands five feet, had the entire nation twisting and turning in joy as he won two gold medals in the Paris Olympics.

It was pure imagination, to millions and millions of Filipinos, to ever see an individual athlete, male or female, with two Olympic gold medals hanging from the neck.

But Yulo believed then achieved, and the Philippines, which waited a hundred years to witness its first Olympic gold courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in Tokyo in 2021, can only long for more.

Yulo's extraordinary feat during the summer days in Paris was surrounded by other wondrous achievements from the resilient Filipino athletes, from boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, who bagged bronze medals in the Olympics, to the tireless Gilas squad that shone on the international stage, pro boxers Melvin Jerusalem and Pedro Taduran, who stood as world champions, cue artists Rubilen Amit and Carlo Biado, who raised their sticks in victory, and 17-year-old golfer Rhianne Malixi, who made heads turn while competing in the United States.

On home soil, winners were hailed, toasted as well, from Meralco, TNT and June Mar Fajardo in the PBA, to the UP Maroons and the Mapua Cardinals in the UAAP and NCAA. The Creamline Cool Smashers were a beautiful sight winning yet another title in the PVL. And the list goes on.

Here are their stories:

1. HAIL KING CARLOS!

Easily the greatest achiever of them all was Yulo for coming through with spellbinding performances in a weekend of Olympic gymnastics medal play to claim the floor exercise and vault championships.

"It's just so overwhelming," said Yulo after hearing the national anthem played at the Bercy Arena not just once but twice, three years after his Tokyo slip.

Before Yulo, there's no other Philippine bet who had won a gymnastics medal and no other Philippine male athlete in any sport who had nailed an Olympic gold.