‘Chloe and I want to get married next year’ — Carlos Yulo
Carlos Yulo is the quintessential poster boy for the small-but-terrible saying. At 4’9”, his “official height,” he towers like a giant in gymnastics. His double-gold medal haul at Paris Olympics proves that the David in him has a slingshot that can slay the intimidating gymnastics’ floor exercise and vault.
Gymnastics has been his world since he was seven. It is the same world his siblings are treading now. “My brother Karl Eldrew has a big potential (to also make it to Olympics),” he says in the vernacular. Cynthia Carrion Norton, the wind beneath his wings and president of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines, agrees with Carlos. “His brother is the next big thing,” she says.
“I never stopped training,” Carlos, 24, says. “That explains why my height is stunted. ‘Yung mga butoko po sa tuhod ay hindi ma-i-stretch dahil hindi po ako tumigil sa training.”
In an intimate party recently at Cervezeria in BGC hosted by Gambia Consul Agnes Huibonhoa and businesswoman Tina Cuevas for Joanne Rae Ramirez on her 25th year as editor-in-chief of PeopleAsia magazine, Carlos explained that when the human bone is exposed to rigorous training, “most specially when I train for floor exercise where there’s extreme impact on the feet and the knee,” the ability of the bone to grow is restricted.
How often does he train when he is preparing for a competition?
“I train for six hours a day. Three hours in the morning, 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Three hours also in the afternoon, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. I train every day. No holiday. No birthday. No weekends.” And the trainings were done years before the competition.
That’s why Carlos Yulo is a champion. He treats training as a way of life. It is his life. He has imbibed it. “Training makes perfect,” he believes. And the palpable proof that his training has paid off can be felt on his palms — rough and calloused. His palms, hardened and toughened, tell of a thousand and one tales of how a boy, born and raised in Manila, dreamt of bagging a gold in the Olympics. One can assume that, because he showed early signs of his prowess in gymnastics early on, he was a star student, a campus figure perhaps, in Aurora Elementary School, Araullo High School and Adamson High School (where he eventually finished his secondary education).
In 2016, Carlos was offered by the Japan Olympic Association to train in Tokyo under a scholarship program. While training, he finished in 2022 an associate degree in Literature at the Teikyo University. He says he can speak Nihongo with ease.
Aside from his calloused palms, his fingers are stiff, too. The very slight deformity in his ring finger will perhaps be straightened out by love when he brings to the altar the love of his life “Maybe next year and have children maybe after I compete in LA (for the 2028 Olympics). We want to get married next year,” he says, prompting party guest and jeweler Christine Dayrit, to quip, “Please allow us to take care of your wedding bands.”
He lets go of an impish smile when he talks about Chloe Anjeleigh San Jose and how they met.
“She was my fan,” he says. “She started to follow me on Twitter (now X) in 2019. When I became not active anymore on Twitter in early 2020, after the 2019 SEA Games, she sent me a message. That started it all.”
“We dated online,” he says, shaking his head, his smile indelible. After two years of dating online, they met in person for the first time at the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam. And, in not so many words, have never parted since then.
“Chloe cooks for me. My favorite is her version of sopas with Spam and chicken. Masarap ang sopas n’ya, especially when it’s raining. Masarap yung sopas na elbow macaroni ang laman,” he said, adding that “sinigang is my favorite dish of all time. Basta ‘wag lamang pong sinigang na fish.” He stays away from pork and fried dishes.
The day his fully furnished, three-bedroom condo unit in McKinley Hill, a prize from Megaworld Corp., was turned over to him was also the day “when Chloe and I started living there.” It took him four to five days before he got adjusted to his new place. “Namahay po ako. Pero ang ganda-ganda po.”
“Pero nami-miss din po namin ni Chloe ang surroundings namin sa aming Filinvest condo sa Alabang,” he says.
Alabang, before his imminent stardom started, was his and Chloe’s happy place. A few days after he came home from the Summer Games, he and his girlfriend just entered an Aivee clinic without an appointment—their first time. When owner Dr. Aivee Teo found out from her staff of their presence at the clinic, Aivee told the staff not to charge the Olympian and his girlfriend. “What a small token for the pride and glory he gave the country after winning at the Olympics,” Aivee said at the party.
Chloe may be one of the most controversial personalities now on social media because of her perceived involvement in the ongoing saga between Carlos and his family but Carlos did not want to talk about that. In fact, at the beginning of the interview, he clearly specified, “Please, no questions about politics and family.”
When a country’s hero who has rewritten Philippine sports history requests that, one is bent to oblige. Out of respect. Out of sheer respect for the one and only athlete who has brought the Filipino nation two gold medals from the Paris Olympics.
What does Carlos pray for?
“My prayers are always about guidance and gratitude,” he says.
Carlos is not training now. A sigh of relief registers on his face. That perhaps explains why he had a glass of beer in his hand at the party. He nursed it with gusto. When he finished his second glass, he stopped asking the waiter for a third. That’s discipline.
His temporary hiatus from gymnastics training gives him time to shoot for some advertisements.
“I’m sure you have plenty of advertisements now,” I said. He declined to name the products he would endorse.
Sources said an endorsement for an international footwear brand is also in the offing.
“My idol is Japanese gymnast Kohei Uchimura, gold medalist in London 2012, all-around,” he says.
With ample time in his hands, before he begins training again, he plans to not be a foreigner in his own land. He wants to see the Philippines. “I haven’t seen the Philippines. I haven’t been around,” he says. Palawan is on top of his list. Someone at the party asked him if he would like to see Amanpulo.
“Sa Pilipinas po ba ang Amanpulo?” he innocently asked. “Gusto ko rin pong marating ‘yon.”
“I need a real vacation,” he ends.