A “CONGRATULATIONS” banner and a sign bearing the names of both brothers greeted Carlos and Karl Eldrew Yulo when they got home from the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The Filipino outlet KAMI reported that the surprise was set up in a dining room, where members of Chloe San Jose’s family jumped out to welcome the returning group.
According to GMA News, the celebration was waiting for Carlos, his girlfriend San Jose, and Eldrew. The two-time Olympic champion shared a video of the moment and called the people behind it his “CHOSEN family.”
“After everything we went through before and during the Asian Games, we came home to this surprise from our people, my CHOSEN family,” Carlos wrote.
He also gave credit to God for the people who stood by them. “Thank You, Lord, for giving me people who went through the hard days with us, celebrate every victory with us, and never left our side.”
San Jose received her own message. “Thank you mahal ko Chloe sa pag share mo ng pamilya mo sa amin ni Eldrew, for loving us, looking after us, and making us feel that we are never alone,” Carlos said.
In a separate post, the gymnast dedicated his medals to the country. “2 GOLDS para sa Pilipinas!” he wrote. “Salamat Panginoon sa gabay, lakas, at proteksyon. Maraming salamat po ulit sa lahat ng nagdasal, sumuporta, at naniwala. PUSO.”
Both golds were the first of his Asian Games career. He won the men’s floor exercise on September 24, 2026, at the Nagoya General Gymnasium with 14.666 points, becoming the first Filipino gymnast to win an Asian Games medal. The next day, he took the vault title with an average of 14.599, edging Iran’s Mahdi Olfati, despite having placed only seventh in qualification. The two victories came in the same events he won at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Eldrew, 18, made the podium in his first Asian Games. He scored 13.666 in the men’s horizontal bar final on September 25, 2026, and won the bronze.
Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi finished with the same total, but the Filipino’s execution score of 8.566 was higher than the Kazakh’s 7.766, and that gave Eldrew third place.
