Karl Yulo leads charge with 2 golds, 2 silvers
DON’T look now, but Karl Eldrew Yulo, the younger brother of top Filipino gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo, is starting to make his presence on the global stage — and how!
In a strong follow-up to his silver medal finish in the individual all-around in the juniors’ event last week, Yulo ruled the men’s floor exercise and vault events and added a pair of silver medals in the rings and pommel horse to cap a spectacular show in the Pacific Rim Championships in Cali, Colombia early yesterday morning (Sunday night in North America).
Turning the Coliseo del Pueblo into his virtual playground, Yulo, 16, scored 14.025 points to handily win the vault event and prevailed in a close battle with Juand David Hernandez in the floor exercise with a tally of 13.500 points, .150 better than his Mexican rival.
In his debut in the tough international event, he took runner-up honors in the juniors individual all-around with a total score of 77.150 points behind hometown bet Keynher Camilo Vera Carrascal (78.350).
Displaying his versatility on the other apparatuses, Yulo, the most bemedalled athlete in the last Batang Pinoy National Championships, added a silver in the pommel horse (12.650) and rings (12.425), highlighting the fruitful campaign of the national gymnastics squad in the Colombian sports hub.
John Ivan Cruz, a gold medalist in the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games, scored 14.450 points to snare the gold in the men’s vault event of the seniors’ division while teammate Juancho Miguel Besana settled for the bronze (13.900), narrowly losing the silver to Hong Kong’s Ka Ki Ng (13.925).
Sharing the spotlight was national women’s artistic gymnastics squad mainstay Ancilla Luisa Mari Manzano, who won the bronze in the vault event (12.200).
The national team’s stint was supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
“Nakakaiyak po. Hindi po ako makapaniwala na magagawa ko po iyon,” said Yulo, crediting national coach Reyland Capellan for his glittering outing in the meet.
“Malaking tulong po ni coach Reyland kung bakit nandito ako. Kung wala siya wala po ako ngayon sa kinatatayuan ko,” added the gymnast, who disclosed that he and the coach had to upgrade their start values so that he would be competitive with the rest of the field.
“Like in the floor exercise po, we raised the start values from 4.500 to 5.000,” said Yulo, which proved to be the winning difference in the event, adding that it was the individual all-around silver that he cherished the most “kasi bihira sa isang Pinoy gymnast na makakagagawa nun.
“Talagang nag-upgrade kami ng aming start values, nagdagdag ng skills, at pinaghandaan namin ang kumpetisyon na ito,” said Capellan, a two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist under famed Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya.
“Kung ano ‘yung natutunan ko kay coach Mune, ina-apply ko rin sa team ngayon,” added Capellan, who transitioned to being the coach of the national MAG squad in 2021.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines deputy secretary Rowena Eusuya, who headed the delegation in Colombia, praised GAP president Cynthia Carrion for fielding the gymnasts in the prestigious tournament.
“This is proof that Ma’am Cynthia recognizes our homegrown talent by sending them to the Pacific Rim Championships. We are grateful for her faith in us and glad that our gymnasts did not let her down,” Eusuya said.
