Caloy Yulo encountered a setback in his quest for a second consecutive Olympics berth after posting a score of just 67.765 in the men’s qualification of the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics on Sunday morning (Philippine time) at the Sportspalais in Antwerp, Belgium.
Competing without his long-time Japanese coach Kugimiya Munehiro, the 23-year-old showed promise with decent scores of 14.666 in the parallel bars and 13.700 in the horizontal bar.
Yulo then opted for a simpler routine on the floor, which still earned him a respectable score of 14.600. However, his surprising score of 13.233 in the pommel horse – an apparatus he usually struggles with – boosted his overall performance.
Just as things appeared to be improving for the multiple Worlds medalist, a good routine on the still rings turned into a disaster when he fell during his dismount, hitting his back on the floor.
This unfortunate incident resulted in a final score of 11.566.
The incident clearly affected his vault performance as he experienced a similar fall during his first attempt, resulting in a zero score. His second attempt yielded a score of 13.533.
Yulo is still in contention for qualification to the floor exercise final, currently standing in third place with two subdivisions remaining.
The only remaining opportunity for Yulo to secure a ticket to Paris in this tournament is to win the floor exercise or be the highest-placed eligible gymnast.
