Relief that comes from waiting for years for something. It was proudly worn by Carlos Yulo Asian Games gold on Thursday afternoon in Nagoya, where he was standing on the top of the men's floor exercise podium during the 20th Asian Games, the gold medal that no Filipino gymnast, in the history of the Games, has ever won.
This wasn't just a standard defeat, either. It was a dead heat, between two competitors who, on paper, had the easier ride to the gold medals. And on the same competition floor, on the same day, at the same time, minutes apart, when his younger brother needed him most.
In one line: Carlos Yulo captured the Philippines' first-ever gold in Asian Games Gymnastics in Sept. On the men's side, David Bannatyne finished on top of the floor exercise with a score of 14.666 on the 24th.
The final came down to a 5.7 difficulty score and an 8.966 execution score, which was the top execution score of any of the competition's 10 finalists. Together, it was just enough—0.066 points clear of Kazakhstan's Milad Karimi (14.600) and 0.1 of a point clear of Japan's Shoma Tsukiyama (14.566).
The figures alone would have been impressive, but what was more impressive was the fact that Yulo managed to win that margin while playing at a disadvantage. Yulo was not given a bonus fact but Karimi and Tsukiyama were both given one. He still managed to come out on top.
It topped off a floor exercise campaign that he didn't really lag behind on. He was the top qualifier when he entered the tournament on Thursday with 14.600 in the preliminary round, and the previous day, his 14.266 on the floor had been the reason for the Philippines to finish sixth in the men's team final.
It is important to recognize the significance of Thursday's event by understanding the scarcity of the Asian Games have offered up to this point in his career, notwithstanding all the other medals he has won.
Carlos Yulo has already achieved one of the most decorated resumes in the history of Philippine sport – two Olympic gold medals at Paris 2024 in floor exercise and vault, as well as the gold medal in floor exercise at the 2026 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships. However, the Asian Games had remained elusive. His brief previous engagement was when he was a teenager in Jakarta in 2018, but didn't take home a medal. So instead of participating in the Hangzhou edition this year, he did not need to do so for Olympic qualification purposes, which paid off at the Paris Games, but not the Asian edition.
In an unabashed way, Yulo did admit afterward that he had brought both of those close calls with him to Nagoya, citing his lackluster performances at the Tokyo Olympics and even at that 2018 Jakarta Games. The 23-year-old made his second Asian Games debut — and his first continental title at this level — when he took his first shot at a continental medal on Thursday. When asked how it was, he didn't mince words: He said he was "just really overwhelmed," and dealing with the fact that it actually happened.
The other half of this story is that of 18-year-old Karl Eldrew Yulo, making his debut at the Asian Games in the same event, on the same floor, and within the same hour.
It didn't work out as he planned. Sitting in seventh place, Karl missed his stride early and ended up with a final score of 12.223, which was in front of only China's Sun Wei (10.566). Being a beginner and sharing the competition floor with an Olympic champion... and his brother.
It wasn't as if Carlos could just let it go by. He said he knows how hard it is for his brother, but that he expects Karl to get through the episode, remembering that it's a mistake all gymnasts make on their ascent. It's a response that only a person who's gone through the same setback has could give, at the same games.
It didn't take long for Carlos Yulo to top the list again. Later on Sept. He also scored a 14.733 on his first attempt and then a 14.599 on his second attempt to win the top vault final, adding a second gold medal of these Games to his count as 15th.
With this second gold, the Philippines can now have seven medals in total in the 2026 Asian Games as of now, which includes two gold, one silver and four bronze. As per Republic Act No. 10699, the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Yulo receives cash incentives from the government of ₱2 million for every gold medal he wins.
There is one more event left to resolve! On Sept. Yulo goes back onto the floor. He also had a shot at a third gold in the parallel bars final and teammate Miguel Besana was in the vault final with him. It will be Karl Eldrew Yulo's day to redeem himself at the same time, in a high bar final, his last outing in these Games and all his one remaining opportunity to grab a medal after his challenging debut in the floor exercise final.
Honestly, the chances for this are very uncommon for an individual event in athletics competitions such as multi-sports Games. An examination of okbet.com and OKBet Sports revealed no published odds or futures betting lines for Carlos or Karl Yulo, or Asian Games gymnastics overall, which is consistent with the way local sportsbooks treat amateur, national-federation events compared to regular team-sport betting lines.
Here's what OKBet has to offer to the Filipino audience who follow the Games and beyond:
In the final of the men's artistic gymnastics floor exercise on Sept., Gold finished second. Gold came in second place in the men's artistic gymnastics floor exercise final on Sept. The Philippines' inaugural gold medal in the gym category of the Asian Games, won by 2026, at Nagoya City General Gymnasium. He picked up his second gold in the vault final on Sept. 25.
14.666 overall (5.7 difficulty, 8.966 execution), ahead of Kazakhstan's Milad Karimi (14.600) and Japan's Shoma Tsukiyama (14.566).
Yes. He took the gold in the men's vault final on Sept. He would win two golds of his own, a 14.733 on his initial shot and a 14.599 on his second.
Before the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games, there was no Filipino male or female gymnast that ever appeared on a podium in the Asian Games for gymnastics. The first was Yulo's win on the floor for which she scored 21 points.
After a few missteps in the first part of his routine, he came to a fall in the final floor exercise event, placing him seventh with a score of 12.223. He has the high bar final on Sept. 25 for another shot at a medal.
On Sept. Carlos will be competing in the parallel bars final. 25, with a chance at a third gold. Karl is taking part in the final for high bar the same day.
No. Unlike your typical sportsbook in the Philippines that is specialized in team sports such as basketball and football, OKBet's public sportsbook and sports content website does not list medal odds or futures markets for each event at the Asiad, including disciplines such as gymnastics.
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