World class
Team Pilipinas’ wunderkind Carlos Yulo proved that he is one of the world’s best.
Despite facing tall odds, the 18-year-old – who was coming off a disappointing performance in the all-around finals – bounced back big time, taking home bronze in the floor event of the 48th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Doha, Qatar.
This is the Philippines’ first-ever medal in the world cup.
Last October 31, the youngest competitor in the field finished in 23rd place out of 24 in the all-around final as he struggled in three events – particularly in the horizontal bar.
This time, Yulo made sure to put on a show in one of his favorite events.
His performance had a difficulty score of 6.2 and execution score of 8.400 to finish with 14.600 points – good for bronze.
Russian Artur Dalaloyan won gold, while Kenzō Shirai of Japan notched silver.
And this is the culmination of his two year training in Japan.
“It benefits me a lot. There is a lot of good gymnasts, and my coach is also Japanese, so it’s kind of the same programme as theirs,” Yulo said.
But for him, this is just the beginning of his career. The young Filipino plans to be one of the best ever to compete in this sport.
“First, I want to go to the Olympics. Second, I want to be a good gymnast. That’s all.”
