FILIPINO STANDOUT Carlos Edriel “Caloy” Yulo advanced to the final round of Artistic Gymnastics in three events at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The qualifying events were held yesterday at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris, France.
Following Yulo’s agile display of technique at the qualifiers, the Philippines’ most decorated gymnast punched tickets to the floor exercise, vault, and all-around finals.
Snatching yet another winning margin similar to his 2019 World Championship title run, Yulo kicked off his Olympic campaign with a riveting performance in floor exercise. In his redemption bid, he produced a stellar showing in his pet event to post 14.766 points, just 0.2 points behind British Jake Jarman, who led all qualifiers in the event.
Yulo also placed sixth at the vault, his second pet event, with a final averaged score of 14.683 points. Initially clinching 14.800 points from his first attempt to 14.566 in the second, the Filipino prodigy notched the same rank he achieved back in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Despite failing to qualify for the pommel horse, still rings, parallel bars, and horizontal bar events, Yulo managed to come out with results that secured him a spot in the 24-man all-around finals.
With a total of 83.631 points across the six apparatuses of the men’s division, Yulo now stands among the few ranked finalists upon the completion of the qualification phase.
Prioritizing safety over risking injury, Yulo emphasized his in-game adjustments as being crucial in his qualification stint, especially on the vault.
“Sobrang grateful po and sobrang saya po na healthy, walang injury, and nagawa ko po ‘yung mga dapat kong gawin (I’m very grateful and happy that I’m healthy, without injury, and that I was able to accomplish what I had set out to do.)” he shared in an interview with One Sports.
Seeking to further redeem himself from his performance in the previous Olympics, the nine-time Southeast Asian Games champion will first compete in the all-around finals on Wednesday, July 31, at the same venue.
