Carlos Yulo, Aira Villegas flag bearers for closing ceremony

Paris Olympics bronze and gold medalists Aira Villegas and Carlos Yulo will be leading Team Philippines in the Olympics closing ceremony. –AP/AFP FILE

Gymnast Carlos Yulo, the nation’s first double-gold performer in the Olympics, will carry the Philippine flag along with boxing’s bronze medalist Aira Villegas on Sunday (Monday, Manila time) during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 81,000-seat Stade de France.

Yulo installed himself as the greatest Filipino Olympian after pocketing the two gold medals in the men’s vault and floor exercise of artistic gymnastics that catapulted Team Philippines to its best finish of 29th place overall in the history of the quadrennial global showpiece.

Villegas, meanwhile, accounted for one of the two bronze medals she pocketed in the women’s 50kg division with two-time Olympic medalist Nesthy Petecio claiming the other in the women’s 57kg.

Redeeming himself from a missed podium opportunity in the vault at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Yulo will be treated to a hero’s welcome upon his arrival in Manila on Tuesday with a meeting with no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the itinerary.

READ: Aira Villegas receives bronze medal in Olympics debut

The 24-year-old pride of Leveriza, Manila joined weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in the pantheon of outstanding Filipino Olympians and could stretch his greatness further after committing to compete in the next Olympiad in Los Angeles 2028.

Aside from his Olympic medals, Yulo is a two-time world champion, having won the floor exercise in the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany and the vault during the global meet’s 2021 edition in Kitakyushu, Japan.