As the nation celebrates Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo’s gold medal win at the Paris Olympics, another athlete has also captured the fascination of Filipinos worldwide.
British gymnast Jake Jarman, who clinched the bronze medal behind Carlos and silver medalist Artem Dolgopyat from Israel, had gone viral after he recently revealed his Filipino lineage.
In an Instagram post, Jake confirmed his biracial roots to the fascination of netizens.
When a curious follower asked if he was half-Filipino, Jake didn't hesitate to respond with a simple but telling "Real" on his Instagram stories.
The 22-year-old athlete shared a childhood photo of himself wearing a "Jake Loves Cebu" shirt and mentioned that his mother, Ana Jarman, hails from Cebu.
Jake, who was born in Peterborough, England on December 3, 2001, lived in the Philippines for two years between the ages of three and five.
FROM HYPER KID TO TALENTED ATHLETE
In an interview with the Peterborough Telegraph published last July, Ana recalled how a coach spotted Jake's potential to be an athlete during a trip to the local park in Peterborough with his nanny when he was just eight years old.
Interestingly, Ana was a gymnast in her youth.
"At first, I said 'no' because I had done gymnastics when I was younger and knew how demanding it was," Ana remarked about the coach's suggestion for her son.
Continued Ana, "But then I thought, maybe we should take him, he was so hyper, and maybe it would be a good way to get out of so much of his energy."
Jake's unrelenting energy drew him to various sports, which include football and ice hockey.
Ana reminisced about talking to Jake and asking him to choose only one sport to focus on.
"He chose gymnastics, but he was also very good at ice hockey too," mentioned Ana with obvious pride.
"I did think, thank God he chose gymnastics, he was so tiny!"
It proved to be a wise decision, as Jake excelled in gymnastics. He progressed from local tournaments to competitions outside his hometown and eventually made his mark on the international stage representing his country.
Before his latest achievement in this Olympics, Jarman won four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, taking top honors in the men’s team all-around, individual all-around, floor exercise, and vault.