Carlos Yulo Biography: Education, 3 Choices and Olympic Gold

By Martin Leo September 28, 2026 Sports History

After the Tokyo Olympics ended in disappointment, a Filipino gymnast and his Japanese coach made a promise about the future. If they ever won gold in Paris, they would take the medals to greet every person who had helped them get there. That is how coach Munehiro Kugimiya has described it. On August 3, 2024, at Bercy Arena, Carlos Yulo made the promise real. He won the floor exercise final, then added vault gold a day later, becoming the first Filipino and the first Southeast Asian to win multiple Olympic gold medals.

This Carlos Yulo biography follows the boy from Malate, Manila who got there. It starts in the classroom, because his schooling shaped every move that came after, and then it tells the story through three decisions that changed everything.

Carlos Yulo Biography: The Education That Shaped His Path

Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo was born on February 16, 2000 in Manila. He grew up on Leveriza Street in Malate and is the second of five children. At age seven, his grandfather, Rodrigo Frisco, took him to a public park, and gymnastics found him there. Former Olympian Ernesto Beren, who competed at the 1968 Games, also met the young boy in Leveriza and shared training tips that helped launch his path.

Yulo began his formal schooling at Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School, studying while he trained. He started competing in 2008, and his early Palarong Pambansa finishes, including a second and a fifth place, pushed him to work harder. In 2014 he won his first international gold as a junior at the ASEAN School Games.

For secondary school he attended Adamson University in Ermita, a move made possible by support from the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines. Then came Japan. Yulo enrolled at Teikyo University in Itabashi, Tokyo, and graduated in 2022 with an associate degree in literature.

The pattern is hard to miss. In Yulo’s story, school and sport were never separate tracks. Each stage of his education was opened by his gymnastics, and each stage demanded more from him. Backing from the Philippine Sports Commission and the MVP Sports Foundation carried him through the biggest step of all.

The Story in Three Key Decisions

Decision One: Leaving Manila for Japan at 16

Yulo’s bronze on vault at a 2015 international junior competition in Yokohama caught the attention of the gymnastics world and led to a scholarship offer. In 2016 he accepted a Japan Olympic Association scholarship program and moved to Tokyo to train under Kugimiya, leaving his family behind.

The early years were hard. Kugimiya later recalled that supporters were few and that he covered expenses himself. At one point, over a bowl of ramen, he handed the teenager a ticket home, because language and culture barriers had worn him down. Yulo stayed.

The payoff arrived quickly. At the 2018 World Championships in Doha, his floor exercise bronze made him the first Filipino to medal at the event. In 2019 in Stuttgart he became world champion on floor, and in 2021 in Kitakyushu he added a world title on vault.

Decision Two: Staying in Japan After the Tokyo 2020 Heartbreak

Tokyo 2020 should have been the stage for his breakthrough. Instead, mistakes on floor in qualifying meant the reigning world champion missed the final eight. Going home would have been the easy choice. Yulo stayed in Japan, kept studying at Teikyo, and rebuilt his routines with Paris in mind. It was in that period, according to Kugimiya, that the two made their vow.

Paris rewarded the patience. Yulo took gold on floor and vault, and became the second Filipino Olympic gold medallist after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, and the first with two. The rewards that followed passed P100 million in cash, gifts and perks, including P20 million under the national athletes benefits law, a furnished condominium unit and a house and lot.

Decision Three: Changing Coaches and Taking Control of His Team

In 2023 Yulo parted ways with Kugimiya after seven years, saying he felt he had outgrown the relationship. They separated on good terms, and Yulo has since publicly thanked his former mentor. Aldrin Castañeda, a Filipino coach who worked with him in his junior years, guided him at Paris and stayed on as his coach in October 2024.

Success also brought pressure at home. After Paris, a public rift with his mother, Angelica Yulo, became national news. Yulo has said the core issue was incentive money and withdrawals from accounts she managed for him without his knowledge. Angelica has said his girlfriend, Chloe San Jose, is at the root of her concerns. Both sides have spoken publicly, and the situation remains a private family matter.

On the mat, the story kept moving. In September 2026, at the Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya, Yulo won floor gold on September 24, becoming the first Filipino gymnast to win an Asian Games medal. After landing flat on his back in vault qualifying and qualifying seventh, he won the vault final on September 25 with an average of 14.599, ahead of Iran’s Mahdi Olfati. Off the mat, Yulo and San Jose announced their engagement this month, revealing that he proposed on December 18, 2025. He has said he is targeting an all around medal and title defenses at LA 2028.

Closing Takeaway

The medals are the visible part of this Carlos Yulo biography. The vow after Tokyo was the spark, but the real story is a chain of choices: leaving home at 16, staying after failure, and changing his team when it was time. Each one cost him something, and each one moved him closer to the podium. For young athletes watching from Manila to anywhere else, that may be the most useful lesson of all.

Carlos Yulo FAQ

How many Olympic gold medals does Carlos Yulo have? Two, both at Paris 2024, in the floor exercise and the vault.

How old is Carlos Yulo? He was born on February 16, 2000, which makes him 26.

Where did Carlos Yulo study? Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School, Adamson University for secondary school, and Teikyo University in Tokyo, where he earned an associate degree in literature in 2022.

Who is Carlos Yulo’s coach? Aldrin Castañeda stayed on as his coach after Paris. Munehiro Kugimiya coached him in Japan from 2016 to 2023.

How much money did Carlos Yulo receive for his Olympic wins? Reported rewards, gifts and perks passed P100 million.

Is Eldrew Yulo related to Carlos Yulo? Yes. Eldrew, born in 2008, is his younger brother. He made his senior debut in 2026 and won floor bronze at the 2026 Asian Championships in Zunyi.

Carlos Yulo Facts Box

Full name: Carlos Edriel Poquiz Yulo
Born: February 16, 2000, Manila, Philippines
Discipline: Men’s artistic gymnastics, best known for floor exercise and vault
Olympic record: Two golds at Paris 2024, floor and vault
World titles: Floor in 2019, vault in 2021 and 2025
Latest results: 2026 Asian Games golds on floor and vault
Education: Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School, Adamson University, Teikyo University
Coaches: Aldrin Castañeda (current), Munehiro Kugimiya (2016 to 2023)
Brother: Eldrew Yulo, born 2008
Partner: Chloe San Jose, engaged since December 2025 and announced in September 2026
Next goal: LA 2028, targeting an all around medal and title defenses

Sources

Martin Leo

Martin Leo is a writer at thebiographyzone.com.ng, where he covers biographies of notable personalities across entertainment, sports, and public life. Known for clear, well-researched storytelling, he’s passionate about turning real lives into engaging, accurate, and reader-friendly profiles for a global audience.