Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion said the sky is the limit for Caloy Yulo following his masterful performance in the 50th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan last Sunday.
Carrion said the 21-year-old Yulo, who won the gold in vault and silver in parallel bars, will go for greater heights looking forward to the 2022 SEA Games in Hanoi and Asian Games in Hangzhou as well as the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“No one can do it like him,” Carrion told the online Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum Tuesday.
Yulo previously won the gold in the floor exercise during the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. But he competed in only three events in Kitakyushu, and missed the podium in his favorite floor exercise.
In his next major competitions, Carrion said Yulo will go for the overall or all-around gold. This means he will have to compete in the pommel horse, horizontal bar, and rings, which are not among his favorite events.
“That’s why he has to train really, really hard,” Carrion told the weekly session presented by San Miguel Corporation (SMC), MILO, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, Daily Tribune, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
Carrion said if things fall into place, she sees Yulo – who trains under Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya – winning multiple golds, including the all-around, in the next SEA Games, Asian Games, and Olympics.
“We’re concentrating on these three (rings, pommel, and horizontal bar). We’re going for the overall (gold) in 2024 in Paris,” said Carrion of Yulo, who is still in Japan finishing his studies but will be going home for the holiday season.
The Filipino gymnast will receive as much as P1.5 million from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) as an incentive.
Yulo would have graced the forum but begged off because he had to attend school.
Carrion said Yulo will get the chance to join his family in Leveriza, Manila for the Christmas holidays; and visit the new GAP gym just built in Intramuros.
Carrion is hoping Yulo can also train in their new gym because his presence will definitely boost the morale of his fellow gymnasts in the country.
