Philippines gymnast Carlos Yulo made history as the country’s first-ever male Olympic gold medalist when he won the top prize for his floor routine on Aug. 3, 2024—and then again, when he became the country’s first two-time gold medalist after winning on the vault less than 24 hours later.
But the 25-year-old gymnast didn’t just walk away from the summer’s Olympic Games with a pair of medals—he also won a fully furnished $550,000 condo.
The Olympian was originally set to win a two-bedroom condo worth $415,000 (24,000,000 Philippine pesos) in the heart of Taguig City, in metropolitan Manila, thanks to the property developer Megaworld Corp.
However in light of Yulo’s double success, the company “upgraded” its promised reward to a three-bedroom $553,345 (32 million Philippine pesos) condo.
The fully furnished flat resides inside the company’s 50-hectare McKinley Hill township, which it says is home to “several world-class athletes, including members of the Philippine national teams for basketball and football.”
“This makes it a perfect home for Filipino champions who live a life of passion and excellence through and through,” Megaworld president Lourdes T. Gutierrez-Alfonso said in the statement.
The company also gifted Yulo $51,900 (3 million Philippine pesos) in cash.
More prizes: Ramen, restaurants, and colonoscopies for life
As if two gold medals and a condo aren’t enough, Yulo was showered with even more gifts from proud Filipino businesses and leaders.
In addition to the $173,000 (10 million Philippine pesos) given by the government to each gold medalist, the House of Representatives gifted the champion $103,700 (6 million Philippine pesos).
Meanwhile, the country’s capital city Manila, where Yulo was born and raised, prepared a “hero’s welcome” for him.
“The grandest welcome will greet him and all our Paris Olympians. When we meet him, we will present Carlos Yulo cash incentives, awards, and symbols of the eternal gratitude of the proud capital city of the Philippines,” the city’s former mayor, Honey Lacuna, told the BBC.
Also awaiting Yulo’s return were a lifetime supply of free buffets, ramen, and chicken inasal, a grilled chicken dish, by various chain restaurants.
One doctor even pledged to provide free colonoscopies and gastroenterology consultations to the nation’s hero for life—but only after he turns 45.
The gymnast had also been offered two free café franchises from Don Macchiatos, a coffee and lemon drink business, as well as various brand ambassadorship opportunities.
Even those who share the same name as Yulo got the red-carpet treatment, with some eateries offering free meals or drinks to anyone named Carlos, Caloy (his nickname), or Edriel (his middle name).
Wacky awards countries give their Olympic medalists
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Yulo isn’t the first Olympic champion to be on the receiving end of some wacky prizes.
When Indonesian badminton athletes Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu returned home from Tokyo in 2021, the popular Indonesian meatball restaurant chain Baso Aci Abang gave the nation’s only gold medalists their own shopfront.
Meanwhile, the island of Sulawesi—where Rahayu hails from—promised her five cows and a house.
In South Korea—where all able-bodied men must enlist in the armed forces for 18 months before age 28—medalists win exemption from military service.
Meanwhile, Russian Olympic medalists have been gifted with racehorses, as well as premium cars, among other incentives. The 2016 medalists won BMW X5s.
However, unable to pay for their upkeep, some were forced to promptly sell their prizes.
A version of this story originally published on Coins2Day.com on August 6, 2024.
