“Breaking gender stereotypes.”
This was what Filipinos commented after the country’s Olympic gold medalists competed in sports with gender stereotypes.
Gymnastics sensation Carlos Yulo made history over the weekend after he bagged gold at the men’s floor exercise in artistic gymnastics on Saturday (Philippine time) and another gold at the men’s vault final on Sunday (Philippine time).
READ: Olympics, Gymnastics: Philippines’ Yulo wins men’s floor exercise gold medal | Olympics, Gymnastics: Carlos Yulo wins men’s vault to scoop second gold in Paris
Carlos’ victories earned him a barrage of prizes and perks from different brands and businesses that ranged from a plush condominium unit to franchise opportunities.
RELATED: Pledges, perks: What Carlos Yulo will take home apart from Olympic gold medals
Other Filipinos reflected on his historic wins by recalling the country’s first Olympian gold medalist, weightlifting wonder Hidilyn Diaz.
At 30 years old, the Zamboaga native won the women’s 55 kg category for weightlifting at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
It was a feat marked by financial difficulty, in which Hidilyn had to publicly plead for monetary support for her training.
Her victory resurfaced as Filipinos cheered for Carlos, with some noting how both athletes “broke” gender barriers by competing and winning in sports with gender stereotypes.
“Woman in Weightlifting and a Man in Gymnastics! Breaking gender stereotypes in sports! We’re so proud of you both!” a Facebook user wrote, sharing pictures of Hidilyn and Carlos.
“This is so ironic, no? First medal for women’s is weightlifting tapos first medal for men’s is gymnastics, haha our athletes breaking PH gender norms when it comes to sports, iktr [I know that’s right],” a user from the X (formerly Twitter) platform commented.
this is so ironic no? first medal for women’s is weightlifting tapos first medal for men’s is gymnastics haha our athletes breaking ph gender norms when it comes to sports iktr 💅❤️ https://t.co/LDzln9PHZM
— aries ♈️ (@chuelleon) August 3, 2024
“ISN’T IT IRONIC? In a ‘male’ tagged sport, Hidilyn won our first gold. And in a ‘female’ tagged sport, we won our second gold. Maraming Salamat, Carlos Yulo! PROUDEST MOMENT! Brb [be right back], crying,” another X user wrote.
ISN’T IT IRONIC?
In a “male” tagged sport Hidilyn won our first gold. And in a “female” tagged sport we won our second gold. Maraming Salamat Carlos Yulo!
PROUDEST MOMENT! Brb crying.#OlympicGames #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/DME0M0jev3
— K (@ohohkrisleen) August 3, 2024
“So fun that our two gold medals in the Olympics are both out of gender-normative sports, first was our women’s weightlifting and now, our men’s gymnastics!!!” another user exclaimed.
“Philippine athletes breaking our gender norms in sports, let’s gooooo!!!!” the user added.
Weightlifting has been stereotyped as a sport for men since it involves lifting weights, an activity usually associated with muscular individuals — who are often thought of as males.
Meanwhile, gymnastics is stereotyped as a sport for women as it involves flexibility and grace, traits usually associated with females.
Nowadays, there are female weightlifters and male gymnasts who break gender norms and disprove misconceptions surrounding their sports.
