Some sort of pressure that is experienced when you're the best in the world at something and you haven't won the one trophy that everyone at home cares about the most. Pressure is a familiar territory to "Yulo Brothers" Carlos Yulo. He has been on two Olympic podiums, wearing an Olympic gold medal around his neck each time, in Paris. He has thirteen Asian and Southeast Asian continental medals dusted off in whatever room he stores them in as a 26 year old gymnast. Yet, approach him in the Philippines and inquire: "what do you miss? and he'll be quick to respond: an Asian Games medal. Not silver. Not bronze. He has never even graced the podium at his continent's largest multi-sport event.
This week in Nagoya, he gets another shot at closing that gap. For the first time, he's not going after it alone. The 18-year-old Karl Eldrew Yulo, the new face of Philippine gymnastics, is making his Asian Games debut on the same competition floor, in the same events and under the same lights.
On paper it's a tale of six apparatus and two brothers. As is usually the case, it is becoming one of the more interesting storylines of the entire 20th Asiad for Philippine sport.
The reason why this is important to Carlos Yulo is revealed by taking a look at his achievements — and also, what he has not.
The résumé is self-explanatory: two Olympic gold medals (floor exercise and vault) from Paris 2024, three world championship gold medals, eleven gold medals from Asian Championships and nine gold medals from the Southeast Asian Games. It's (arguably) the greatest gymnast the Philippines has ever produced and one of the most decorated athletes in the nation's history. With his Olympic success in 2024, the Philippines' total Olympic gold medals have jumped to three, up from two after Hidilyn Diaz's historic gold in Tokyo three years ago.
But the Asian Games hasn't been in his favor. His first time was in 2018 as an 18 year old in Jakarta, where he competed in both vault and floor exercise and came in 4th and 7th respectively. Close, but empty-handed. He didn't even get to the Hangzhou edition this year but instead concentrated on the World Championships in Antwerp, where he clinched the Paris Olympics qualification, and won gold medals — and left the Asian Games void of any progress.
Now he is a reigning Olympic champion, returning to continental competition doesn't look the same as it did when he was a promising teenager. No longer is the question 'can he medal', but 'how many and in what colours.
It won't be simple. The Japanese team is going to play with a home team that is stacked with Olympic gold medalists, Shinnosuke Oka and Daiki Hashimoto, in front of their home fans. China's reigning Hangzhou all-around champion, Zhang Boheng, is in excellent form. It's been noted that Yulo has been honest about what he's looking to improve at Nagoya. During his interview with GMA News' 24 Oras, he said that he has more time now putting into the areas where he is weak—particularly, the pommel horse and high bar. Those are my weaknesses and I hope I can get great results from them. It's what good, honest players say when they're admitted to the elite club — he's not afraid of the competitions in which he is already the top player. He is concerned about bridging some of the remaining holes that can make the difference between a good Asiad and a golden one.
Whereas Carlos Yulo's tale in Nagoya is an unfinished one, Karl Eldrew Yulo's is a beginning… one that starts on the greatest stage his sport has ever offered.
At 18, Karl is getting his first taste of the Asian Games, doing the same men's artistic gymnastics all-around event that his older brother has been competing in for years. He brings his own bona fides: He won a bronze in floor exercise at the 2026 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, which Carlos won gold in. Sharing a games, months before sharing a podium, brothers.
When Carlos arrived at this level, it wasn't a secret that he felt good about his brother. "Congratulations to my brother, I'm very happy with him," he said to GMA News. At his age, he still has a lot of things ahead of him, he'll achieve more things, but he'll have his fair share of challenges as well. In every sense, it's a big brother attitude, proud, somewhat protective, and completely knowing just how difficult the next leg of Karl's career is going to be as he has experienced it.
Karl didn't have to wait for long to prove that the confidence is earned. The men's qualification round started on Sept. He was the better-performing Yulo in several events, at the age of 21. He was also leading Subdivision 1 in horizontal bar and floor exercise, both ahead of his elder brother, and eighth in the men's individual all-around qualification, two places up from Carlos, who was tenth. It's not a footnote for a debutant who finds herself with an Olympic champion. That's a statement.
The Philippine men's artistic gymnastics team of Carlos and Karl Yulo"Yulo Brothers", plus Juancho Miguel Besana, Justin Ace de Leon and Zachary Nuñez will go head-to-head with all 6 men's apparatus during the Games at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium: floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar.
This is for qualification only and will be up to and including Sept. 21 already have both brothers in place to make history:
It is the first time in the history of the Asian Games that a Filipino male or female has ever appeared on an Asian Games podium. Never, during the event's history. It's the number they're both after this week, starting two different ways; one looking to complete a very storied career with the missing line, the other concerned that his first-ever Asiad is not coming in empty-handed.
The team final will be on Sept. The most important window is only just starting at 23. The final days of competition, Sept., will be in the individual apparatus finals, where medals are actually decided, event by event. 20 (women) (vault, vault, vault) are the remaining digits. The remaining digits are 24 (floor exercise, pommel horse, rings for the men) and Sept. 20 (women) (vault, vault, vault). 25 (vault, parallel bars, horizontal bar (Men's). The two days will test Carlos Yulo's signature events, floor exercise and vault, while Karl's breakout performances in floor and horizontal bar will be highlighted, competing with Japan's home sweet home and China's reigning champion.
It is uncommon for any one Philippine household to be riding on the same 48 hours of competition. Two brothers, half a generation apart, in the same city, for the same flag, and at odds to finish what one started eight years ago in Jakarta, while the other is just trying to begin his career, as most gymnasts only dream of it.
The Yulo Brothers name will be at center stage when it comes to the sport's biggest week against the Asian Games in Philippine gymnastics' history, regardless of the color of the medals they will receive, if any at all. And whatever it is, Karl Eldrew Yulo now has a more 18 than he had before: an Olympic champion in his family, in his gym, telling him what it takes to get there.
Just an honest word of warning about the odds for this one: Most individual Olympic-style, multi-sport Asian Games events, including gymnastics, won't be available on most Philippine sportsbooks, including OKBet. However, a search of panalo111bet.com and revealed that there are no published medal-odds or futures markets for Carlos or Karl Yulo, and no gymnastics futures markets at Aichi-Nagoya; as with the local betting market, amateur/national-federation competitions are treated differently than standard team-sport lines.
But what OKBet does have for Filipino sports fans following the Games:
For the trading/marketing team: if any basketball-adjacent or Asiad-linked promo goes live during the Games window, this section should be updated with specifics — as of this draft, nothing publicly posted supports an odds callout for the gymnastics events.
Yes. The two-time Olympian (floor exercise and vault) is 26-year-old Carlos Edriel Yulo. His younger brother Karl Eldrew Yulo, 18, is the first Asian to compete in the men's artistic gymnastics all-around at the Asian Games.
No. He made his debut at the Asian Games in 2018 in Jakarta, when he placed fourth in vault and seventh in floor exercise at the age of 18. He has not participated in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023 in order to get ready for the World Championships and Paris Olympic qualification.
Both contest the All-Around event in all six events (floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar) at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium. Both were in the Finals for Floor Exercise and Carlos was also in the Finals for Vault and Parallel bars while Karl was in the Finals for the Horizontal bar.
No Filipino Gymnast, male and female, has ever won a podium spot in the Asian Games in Gymnastics going into the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games.
The team final will be on Sept. 23. Individual apparatus finals are during Sept. The 24 and the pommel horse and rings for men are the floor exercise as well as the pommel horse and rings for men. At the Nagoya City General Gymnasium, 25 (vault, parallel bars & horizontal bar for men).
No. Unlike sportsbooks in the Philippines that are mostly team sports such as basketball and football, medal-odds and futures markets aren't listed for individual events within the Asiad on OKBet's public sportsbook and sports content site, as of this writing.
