Philippines Lavishing First Male Olympic Gold-Medal Winner With Expensive Gifts

Carlos Yulo has been lavished with expensive gifts by his home country after becoming the first Philippino male to take gold at the Olympics.

People reports that Carlos Yulo, the Philippines’ first male gold-medal winning Olympian, has been lavished with incredible gifts and lifetime perks by his country in honor of his history-making win.

On August 3, Yulo won gold at the Men’s Floor Exercise. On August 4, he followed that performance with another gold-winning turn in the Men’s Vault Final.

A few days before Yulo’s first victory, on August 1, the Filipino property company Megaworld announced that they would be gifting a furnished, two-bedroom condo to any Filipino Olympian who took home gold in Paris. After his second win, the real estate firm upgraded Yulo up to a three-bedroom condo in their McKinley Hill development. Yulo’s pair of golden performances were just the Philippines' second and third gold medals ever in the Olympics. 

“Since this is a very significant milestone in the history of Philippine sports to have two gold Olympic medals during our 100th year participation as a country in the Olympics, which also coincides with our company’s 35th anniversary this year, we are boosting our reward for Carlos Yulo," Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, Megaworld’s president, said in a statement.

It’s hardly the first time Megaworld has given a free home to one of the country’s gold-medal winners. Female weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz was previously gifted a condo in the company’s Eastwood development, located in Quezon City, after she took the top spot in weightlifting at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

But the three bedroom condo isn’t the only gift Yulo is receiving. In fact, it’s not even the only home he’s been gifted. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation is also awarding the athlete a home somewhere in Tagaytay, which lies just outside of Manila. The corporation is also giving Yulo 20 million Philippine pesos (which is about $346,000).

In addition to that, Yulo will also receive six million pesos (about $104,000) from the Philippine House of Representatives. Local vendors have also lined up to give Yulo a lifetime’s supply of free food. A bakery called Cookies by the Bucket has given him a lifetime supply of free cookies, while another restaurant has given him a lifetime of free ramen. Yulo was gifted free academic credits from the University of Mindanao; and a doctor’s office provided the athlete with a lifetime of free colonoscopies.

An X (formerly Twitter) user compiled a list of all of Yulo’s prizes and gifts, which you can check out here.