STREET SPORTS: Double Gold Hero
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has concluded, and the Philippines has its best ever finish at the Olympiad with 2 golds, courtesy of star gymnast Carlos Yulo, and 2 bronzes from boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio. Yulo capped a dream Olympics by finishing with gold medals from the floor and vault exercises of the gymnastics competition, the first for the Philippines.
But the golden moment was marred by issues with his family and personal life, in which some netizens took offense with, more especially since the Philippines is a country with rich family traditions and value family ties. Various reactions have flooded social media, with those who were voicing out support for the star gymnast, and his detractors, who say his achievements will do him no good if he doesn’t let his family share the fruits of his labor. As of this writing, Yulo has been awarded more than P100 million from various companies and individuals, condo units from Megaworld, several new cars, unlimited flights to and from the country, and lifetime free meals from some of the country’s biggest food conglomerates, like Vikings. As an athlete who has made history with 2 gold medals, the only one who has achieved that feat for our country, let’s give him a break and some space for him to enjoy his life and his winnings. Let us not add furor to the fire by voicing whatever opinions we have regarding his family issues. Let him solve that himself and let us focus instead on the achievement that he gave our country, those 2 gold medals that he won in Paris.
– – –
*The United States of America won the men’s Olympic basketball tournament by defeating host France, 98-87 in the men’s gold medal game at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry had 24 points on 8 triples, including 4 straight in the last 2 minutes of the game, to put the US away after France had cut a 14-point- lead into 3. In their previous game 2 days earlier, the USA had to overcome a 17-point deficit, 13 in the 4th quarter, to beat a hard-fighting Serbia team, led by NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, 95-91. They needed several clutch baskets and triples from former NBA MVPs Curry, Joel Embiid, Lebron James, and Kevin Durant to pull out the semifinal win. The games of the USA proved that indeed the world had caught up to them in terms of basketball and sending their best team with the best All-Stars in the NBA doesn’t guarantee a sure gold medal. Other countries have their core rotation together for 10 to 15 years and have developed great team chemistry and cohesion. The future, especially the 2028 LA Olympics, looks to be uncertain for the Americans to win gold even with their best team. James, Curry and Durant may be retired from the sport and up and coming stars like Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards will be leading the charge. It would be exciting to watch a balanced competition for the men’s basketball and not just a foregone conclusion that the USA will win the gold and everyone else fights for silver.
Pio Alessandro S. Ozoa is a graduate of BS Computer Science at USLS. A big fan of sports, especially basketball. A late bloomer when it comes to playing the game, he watches sports often on livestream often as a deviation from the stress of everyday life.
Comments