Filipino gymnast and Olympian Carlos Yulo is set to be honored as the 2024 Athlete of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) for his historic gold medal performance at the Paris Olympics last year.
Yulo clinched two gold medals after dominating the floor exercise and vault events in men’s gymnastics.
With this achievement, he becomes the country’s second Olympic gold medalist, following in the footsteps of the first-ever gold medalist, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who won at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“For such a breakthrough accomplishment, this one was a no-brainer as Yulo was the overwhelming choice as the 2024 Athlete of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) in its coming Awards Night on Jan. 27 at the grand ballroom of the Manila Hotel,” PSA said in a statement on Thursday.
Before his triumphant Olympic campaign, Yulo had already dominated the Asian Championships, securing gold medals in the individual all-around, floor exercise, vault, and parallel bars events.
“By rewriting history, Yulo lined himself up as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Filipino athletes of all time,” PSA stated.
In addition to the Athlete of the Year award, athletes will also be recognized in other categories such as NSA of the Year, President’s Award, Executive of the Year, Hall of Fame, and Special Recognition for Filipino athletes and para-athletes.
Furthermore, as part of the celebration of the country’s centennial participation in the Summer Games, past Filipino Olympians will also be recognized during the awards ceremony.
