Now that the whole country is celebrating Carlos Yulo’s back-to-back gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, let’s discover where this sport originated and how some Filipino athletes also fell in love with it.

Carlos Yulo’s name has been making waves after he won back-to-back gold medals in men’s floor exercise and men’s vault at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But did you know that many Filipino gymnasts have also competed in the olympics?

In the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Demetrio Pastrana and Fortunato Payao competed.

And in the 1968 Mexico Olympics, Ernesto Beren and Norman Hendon participated, but none of them returned with medals.

Gymnastics originated in Ancient Greece as part of military training.

The term “gymnastics” came from the Greek word meaning “to exercise naked,” as Ancient Greeks trained without clothing.

Later, it became a part of the Olympic competitions that started in 776 BCE.

In the 19th century, modern gymnastics was introduced in Europe and quickly spread to other parts of the world.

In the Philippines, gymnastics was introduced by the Americans as part of the physical education curriculum.

In 1962, the Philippine Gymnastics Association was established to promote the port and develop Filipino athletes.

Since then, Filipino athletes have strived and continued to succeed in gymnastics, both nationally and internationally.

As we celebrate these achievements and face challenges, gymnastics continues to inspire future generations of Filipino athletes.