Hillarion Palles III came up short of the men’s all-around final at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, but his rapid rise is giving Philippine gymnastics reason to dream. The 16-year-old ranked 49th among 60 gymnasts in qualifying on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Palles is one of only two Filipino gymnasts in Dakar, along with Tchelzy Maayo, who vied in the women’s qualification. The Philippines lacks the numbers for the team event, so both are limited to the individual all-around.

Palles Gains Priceless Dakar Exposure

Palles said the experience was worth every minute. “I had the best exposure I could ever get from these games and I got to meet some of the best gymnasts in the world my age, many of them even became my friends,” he said after qualifying.

Palles’ specialties are the vault, high bar and parallel bars, where he raised the difficulty of his routines. “I was able to apply what I learned in training and got the results I expected,” he said.

He competed at the Dakar Exhibition Center in Diamniadio as part of Team Philippines, sent by the Philippine Olympic Committee and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission. Palles, a Palarong Pambansa multi-medalist, competes out of Pasig City.

PH Gymnastics Hope After Dakar

Palles started in the sport at Club Gymnastica and quickly stood out in national competition. The Gymnastics Association of the Philippines then spotted him, and he now trains under Reyland Capellan and Munehiro Kugimiya.

Capellan, who is coaching Palles and Maayo in Dakar, pointed to the teenager’s progress. “He’s only trained seriously on the elite level the past nine months, and he already showed major improvements,” he said.

Kugimiya, the Japanese coach who has guided the Yulo brothers, also helped Palles prepare. “I trained two weeks under Coach Mune in Japan before I got here and I learned a lot,” Palles said. “He’s very strict, very disciplined, but I learned and am learning a lot.”

Palles has shown potential worthy of following Carlos Yulo, a double Olympic and Asian Games gold medalist, and Eldrew Yulo, an Asian Games bronze medalist. His Dakar debut shows he is a name to watch in Philippine gymnastics.