By Lance Joseph Martinez
As Filipino sports fans focus on the ongoing Paris Olympics, the competition has become a source of memes, particularly featuring our own gymnast, Caloy.
The two-time Filipino Olympian scored a total of 83.032 points to finish in 12th place in the all-around finals, marking the first of his three medal events at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the Bercy Arena.
The 24-year-old gymnast had a rough start with a bad landing during the pommel horse apparatus, earning just 11.900 points. However, he immediately bounced back by scoring 13.933 points on the rings apparatus, placing third behind China’s Zhang Boheng and Great Britain’s Joe Fraser. Yulo closed his campaign with 14.333 points on the floor exercise.
Japan’s Oka Shinnosuke won the gold medal with 86.832 points, while Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Zhang Boheng of China took silver with 86.599 points.
Meanwhile, one X user, @ydm_gms, noticed that Caloy used a different bag to store his chalk powder, essential for his routines, opting for a tupperware instead of a plastic bag.
“Isauli mo kay nanay yan, Caloy, walang Olympian Olympian dito 😜,” one netizen humorously commented.
Another remarked, “Tell me you’re Pinoy without telling me you’re Pinoy 😂❤️.”
Others praised his container choice as eco-friendly, with one user saying, “Jokes aside, this is an eco-friendly move and I’m glad he did it 👏😅.”
In an interview with One Sports, Caloy explained that using tupperware became a habit while training in Japan, saying, “Everytime na pupunta sa ibang competition, may dala po talaga kaming tupperware.”
‘Yung sa kanila nga, mas malaki pa po, eh. ‘Yung sa akin po kasi mag-isa lang ako, so ‘di ko kailangan ng malaking tupperware. ‘Yung handy lang saka madaling dalhin,” he added.
“‘YUNG HANDY LANG TSAKA MADALING DALHIN PO” 😇💙
— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) August 1, 2024
Carlos Yulo shares the story behind the 'tupperware' he's been carrying around during the all-around finals of the artistic gymnastics in the Olympic Games.#Paris2024 #100TaongLaban #ParaSaBayan #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/9RcBpZJmg7
Commenting on his unfortunate fall during the pommel horse, one X user demanded, “JUSTICE FOR CALOY!”
Another called the apparatus the “no. 1 public enemy ng mga Pinoy ngayon dahil sa ginawa kay Carlos Yulo,” referring to the pommel horse.
Another user added, “Actually hindi lang kay Caloy, halos lahat ng mga gymnasts yan din ang problema, ang daming nagkamali dyan.”
In another event during the qualification round, Yulo trended with a clip showing him having a brief conversation with his coach, asking if his performance was good.
The three-time all-around gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games will next compete in the floor exercise finals on August 3 and the vault finals on August 4.
