Carlos Yulo vows LA 2028 encore, EJ Obiena hunts for redemption

From the high of victory to the throes of defeat, the Philippines’ top sports heroes are training their sights on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“Definitely, I’ll be there, 100 percent,” Carlos Yulo said after a historic weekend at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Yulo will be 28 by the time the LA Olympics takes place but that won’t be the only thing different from his Paris stint. He will also fly to the US west coast as the defending champion of the floor exercise and vault, which he ruled in back-to-back nights to become the most decorated Filipino Olympian in history.

READ: Incentives continue to pour for Carlos Yulo after his double gold feat

If he makes it past the myriad qualifying tournaments and books a ticket to Los Angeles, EJ Obiena will be competing from a place starkly different from Yulo.

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Obiena will be looking for redemption after missing out on a podium finish by one spot.

“I will be back,” Obiena wrote on his social media account after finishing an agonizing fourth in the pole vault competition early Tuesday morning after the world No. 2 failed to crack the 5.95-meter bar in three tries. “I have been knocked down. But I will get back up.”Obiena apologized for the defeat; he was one of the PH stars tagged as a favorite for the podium.

But the 28-year-old Asian record holder missed out on his attempts at 5.95 after the 12-man finals field had been whittled to four. As a result, he missed reuniting the world’s top three vaulters at the podium.

World No. 1 Mondo Duplantis won the gold and reset the world and Olympic records with a 6.25-m vault. World No. 3 Sam Hendricks finished with the silver with a 5.95-m finish while Emmanouil Karalis of Greece finished with the bronze at 5.90—the same barrier Obiena crossed, but one he reached in fewer tries.

“It’s painful. I missed a medal by one jump and it wasn’t far on all my attempts at [5.95 m],” Obiena said in an interview with Olympics broadcaster One Sports.

RED: EJ Obiena apologizes for missing out on Paris Olympics medal

“I apologize. I promised [I was] gonna go back after Tokyo and do better. I did, but it didn’t change in my book. I still came up short. I’m really sorry. I apologize for it,” added Obiena, who placed 11th in the Tokyo Games.

On his socials’ post, Obiena wrote: “[Fourth] place is painful to say the least; and in sports with three podium places, perhaps [fourth] is the harshest place to be. I am heartbroken that a single failure cost me and cost a nation I so deeply love … the podium.

Two silvers

Yulo’s two gold medals came three years after Hidilyn Diaz (now Diaz-Naranjo) broke through with the first Olympic title ever for the Philippines after ruling the women’s 55-kilogram class of weightlifting in Tokyo. Before that trailblazing win, the country had gone through 97 years of Olympic participation without ever winning a gold.

From 1924 to 2016, the Philippines’ shiniest medal was a silver, one coming in 1964 in Tokyo from boxer Anthony Villanueva, in 1996 in Atlanta through boxer Onyok Velasco, and the other in 2016 courtesy of Diaz in Rio de Janeiro.

And in the span of three years, the Philippines has collected three golds, two silvers and one bronze, with at least two more podium finishes ahead.

Yulo, Obiena and the other young stars of the country hope to continue that winning haul in four years.

“Four years. It’s still a long way. I just hope I’ll be healthy and free from injuries,’’ said Yulo.

In Paris, the country’s current medal count is at two golds, with two guaranteed bronzes from the women boxers. Aira Villegas was fighting at press time as she tries to turn that bronze into at least a silver while Nesthy Petecio is also scheduled for a semifinal appearance on Thursday.

Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Paris Olympics 2024.

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