KING CARLOS

Three years after his Tokyo slip, gymnast Carlos Yulo emerged as an Olympic golden boy, coming through with the performance of his life and delivering a triumph for the ages in the floor exercise final at the Bercy Arena here Saturday.

- NELSON BELTRAN

And Yulo, a two-gold winner in the World Championships, is now also an Olympic gold medalist the second for the Philippines after the breakthrough feat by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in the last edition in 2021 in the Japanese capital.

With perfect somersaults to finish his routine, Yulo clenched his right fist and punched the air, already celebrating, confident he's got a winning show.

Third in the order of performers in the program, the 24-year-old Manila pride, with a score of 15.000, bettered those of Spain's Rayderley Zapata (14.333) and Israeli titleholder Artem Dolgopyat (14.966). And he stayed there on top after all eight finalists were done, the last flash of the scores sparking a rush of emotion for the Filipino champ.

Tears were rolling down his face as his rivals were all over him shortly before the awarding ceremony.

For the second straight Olympics, the Philippine national anthem was played in the greatest sporting show on earth.