MANILA, Philippines – Gymnast Carlos Yulo and boxer Aira Villegas proudly carried the Philippine flag as the Paris Olympics came to a close at the Stade de France on Sunday, August 11 (Monday, August 12, Manila time).
Yulo and Villegas shared flag-bearing duties for the closing ceremony after paving the way for the Philippines to mark 100 years of Olympic participation with its all-time best campaign featuring two golds and two bronzes.
Incidentally, Yulo and Villegas missed the first-of-its-kind opening ceremony staged along the iconic Seine River as they focused on their respective preparations.
Yulo went on to mesmerize in the men’s artistic gymnastics competition, ruling the floor exercise and vault to become the Philippines’ first Olympic double gold medalist.
His pair of historic performances allowed the country to win multiple golds in a single Olympics for the first time as the Philippines tied for 37th place in the medal tally – its highest ranking in exactly six decades.
Villegas, meanwhile, made the most of her Olympic debut, snagging bronze in the women’s 50kg division.
The Philippines’ other bronze medalist, boxer Nesthy Petecio, served as flag bearer in the opening ceremony alongside teammate Carlo Paalam.
Other members of the 22-strong Team Philippines who attended the closing ceremony included hurdler Lauren Hoffman and golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina.
Pagdanganan and Ardina wrapped up the Philippines’ campaign in style on Saturday, finishing at joint 4th and joint 13th, respectively, in the women’s golf competition.
The Philippines ended the Olympics as the best performing Southeast Asian nation, besting regional rivals Indonesia and Thailand.
After one more day in Paris, Yulo, Villegas, Petecio, and the rest of the crew return home to a proud nation on Tuesday, August 13, with no less than President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos welcoming the delegation.
For the fourth straight edition, the USA topped the Olympic medal table after a tight battle with China decided by the final event of the Games.
The two countries each won 40 golds, but the USA (44 silvers and 42 bronzes) edged China (27 silver and 24 bronzes) for the overall championship.
Bagging 16 golds, 26 silvers, and 22 bronzes for fifth, host France turned over the Olympic flag to the USA, which will host the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. – Rappler.com