Carlos Yulo delivers PH’s second gold in 2026 Asian Games

Make it two for the country’s Golden Boy.

In just less than 24 hours, Carlos “Caloy” Yulo snared the Philippines’ second gold medal in the 20th Asian Games after ruling the men’s vault final with a score of 14.599 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 25.

Yulo’s second gold lifted the Philippines from outside the top 20 of the medal table to 13th place, further boosting the country’s campaign in the regional meet.

Living up to his bid as the Olympic and world champion in the apparatus, the 26-year-old gymnast shrugged off his seventh-place finish in the qualifications to claim the top spot in the medal round.

After posting a 13.649 average in the qualifications, Yulo delivered his best when it mattered most, scoring 14.733 on his first vault and 14.466 for a 14.599 average.

His tightest competition in the medal round came from Iran’s Mahdi Olfati, who opened with a stronger 15.1 on his first vault but failed to complete his landing in Vault 2, registering only 13.966 points.

Oltafi averaged 14.533 points—just 0.066 points behind Yulo in a razor-thin battle for gold.

Yulo also bested Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Ki, who topped the qualifications, as the latter setted for a bronze with an average of 14.116.

Caloy will now turn his attention to the parallel bars as he looks to complete a hat trick of gold medals in Aichi-Nagoya.