Red carpet welcome awaits 'King Carlos'

MANILA, Philippines – A welcome befitting a king awaits Paris Olympics double gold medalist Carlos Yulo.

Yulo, who just less than a week ago delivered a performance for the ages by capturing not just one, but two mints in floor exercise and vault in men’s artistic gymnastics, is scheduled to plane in via a chartered flight Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

The pocket-sized dynamo will arrive alongside a posse of supporters from Paris that includes Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion.

At the airport, Yulo will receive a warm reception prepared not just by Malacañang but also by the Philippine Sports Commission as well.

Manila, according to Mayor Honey Lacuna, will also honor Yulo, a native of Leveriza, Manila, in a grand parade that will come a day or two after the city’s decorated son arrives.

The said parade will start from Leveriza Street in Malate where Yulo was born, grew and eventually discovered as a gymnast and pass through the Palace and the university belt before ending at the Manila City Hall.

The heroes’ welcome was similar to what Hidilyn Diaz received when the weightlifter from Zamboanga City delivered the country’s historic Olympic gold in the Tokyo Games three years ago.

Coming with the reception, of course, is a mammoth-size bounty of cash rewards — P20 million from government via law, P6 million from the House of Representatives, P5 million from Arena Plus, P3 million from Bounty Fresh and Chooks-to-Go, P3 million from Megaworld, P2 million from Manila and possibly more from the Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation.

It also includes pledges like a P32 million worth three-bedroom, fully furnished condominium unit in McKinley Hill from Megaworld; a house and lot in Tagaytay from Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino; and an array of goodie treats that include lifetime eat-all-you-can voucher from Vikings, a 150,000 Mabuhay Miles per year for life bonus from the Philippine Airlines, and P1 million worth of SM products among others.

And like a king, Yulo should get more.