IN this lifetime, there will only be one Carlos Edriel Yulo.

Yulo and the entire Philippines—whether glued to their television sets or Smartphones at home last Saturday night or privileged enough to witness greatness unfold at the stunning Bercy Arena, held their breath waiting for the score of Briton Luke Whitehouse to be flashed on the giant screen.

It turned out to be just a formality, an anti-climactic ending to Yulo’s riveting rise from his fall from grace in Tokyo three years ago.

Whitehouse’s tally read: 14.466 points and Yulo, overcome with emotion, fell on his burly knees, covered his face with his hands and broke down in tears.

While he stood just at 4-foot-11, he stood tallest and mightiest in bagging a historic men’s floor exercise gold in the final of the artistic gymnastics meet of the Paris Olympics.

Yulo showed up with the biggest of hearts and wits and totaled 15.000 points to edge erstwhile Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel, who scored 14.966—just 0.034 short of Yulo’s tally.

“I don’t know what to say,” Yulo said. “We are a really small country… So, to be able to get a gold medal for us is big for us, huge.

“I dedicate this to the Filipino people also who supported me,” he added.

Yulo, 24, exercised the demons of a crushing stint in the Japanese capital where he failed to deliver a medal of any color.

He began his outing with a tumbling pass that featured a high-flying 2-1/2 double-piked front somersault and rounded off the dynamic display ala poetry in motion with an astonishing 3-1/2 twisting forward somersault.

When Yulo secured his final landing, he punched the air with both fists, let out a huge roar and then saluted the appreciative crowd that had leaped to their feet to applaud his epic performance.

Fil-Britain’s Jake Jarman wound up third, just 0.067 of a point adrift of the mint after committing small landing errors on his tumbles.

Filipino bets have been promised a fully furnished, two-bedroom condominium in Taguig if they win a gold medal and a sure cash incentive of P10 million as mandated by Republic Act 10699.

Yulo will also receive an Olympic Gold Medal of Valor from the Philippine Sports Commission.

The Philippine Olympic Committee also pledged to give gold medalists a house and lot.

As if the windfall’s not enough for all the blood, sweat, and tears he poured for a childhood dream that began when he was only seven years old at the busy Leveriza Street in Malate, Manila, the House of Representatives will also award Yulo P3 million.

But the money and the perks are just bonuses—fulfilling a long-cherished goal matters most for Yulo.

“It’s just a bonus for me and this is what really matters,” Yulo said, clutching the shining medal around his neck. “My hard work and the people who really helped me. I know my success is also their success. I’m happy that I won gold, and I also won a house.”

Boxer Aira Villegas pulled off a 3-2 split decision over Frenchwoman Wassila Lkhadiri in the quarterfinals of the 50kg division to assure herself of at least a bronze.

But Yulo, the star of these Games for Team Philippines, isn’t done yet as he vied for another gold in the final of the vault event at press time last night.

Tracksters John Cabang-Tolentino and Lauren Hoffman were relegated to the repechage of the men’s 110-meter hurdles and women’s 400-meter hurdles, respectively.

Yulo, who toughened up in the last seven years in Japan due to a lack of opportunity back home and a family row with his mother and sisters, has just one wish.

“Hopefully, gymnastics in the country will grow,” he said. – With Reuters