Yulo keeps his promise, delivers gold

- Advertisement -

THERE was a special person that Carlos Edriel Yulo did not want to let down when he went into action on the final day of the 50th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan last Sunday.

Yulo kept his promise to younger sister Issa, delivering a gold and silver in the men’s vault and parallel bars, respectively, as his gifts to her in celebration of her 12th birthday.

“I sent her a message to tell her ‘Sorry, I couldn’t be there. And I don’t have any gifts. But I will do my best to give you a gift,’” Yulo said in an interview with the Gymcastic YouTube site shortly after his outstanding showing at the Kitakyushu City Gymnasium.

- Advertisement -

“Hello Issa, happy birthday sa ‘yo. Maging mabuti kang bata. May gold medal si kuya para sa ‘yo,” said Yulo, who was all smiles as he made a shoutout to her younger sibling in the interview that had gained nearly 10,000 views as of noon yesterday.

“Tuwang-tuwa po at naiyak si Issa pagkatapos na makita niya na ang kuya niya ang nanalo ng gold. Kasi hindi na-break ng kuya niya ‘yong promise niya sa kanya,” noted the athlete’s mother, Angelica.

She said that Issa and the rest of the family watched his eldest son perform live on the International Gymnastics Federation YouTube site as they celebrated her daughter’s birthday in their home in Leveriza, Malate behind the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

It was the third and fourth medals that Yulo won in the prestigious world competition, counting the bronze medal from the men’s floor exercise in the 2018 edition in Doha, Qatar, and the breakthrough gold in the same event in Stuttgart, Germany two years ago.

Among those who congratulated the gymnast on his latest achievement was Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, who said: “We are very happy for Caloy, his coaching staff, parents and (gymnastics head) Ma’am Cynthia Carrion. Our support of this talented young athlete is continuing to pay off handsomely.”

The soft-spoken athlete said he did not do too well in his floor exercise routine last Saturday, adding: “I accepted the result. I cannot control it. I am still glad I that I was safe after that.”

After a hard twirling maneuver, Yulo was caught off-balance at the end of his routine, stepping out of bounds for a .300-point deduction that dragged him down to fifth with a worst-ever score of 14.566 points in his favorite event.

He said this drove him to perform better on the final day, and the thought of not disappointing his younger sister.

“I was really confident that I can do this, especially the vault,” said Yulo, who topped the event with a new national record of 14.916 points, thanks largely to his high tally of 15.033 in the second vault after his 14.800 in the first, getting the average of both for the overall mark. He also booked another new national standard of 15.300 in the parallel bars.

Despite his glowing accomplishments, the pint-sized phenom said that he is far from satisfied, adding he would be back in training as soon as he and Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya return to their home base in Tokyo.

“I still have the All-Japan Championship in December so we will train for that and, hopefully, be back home by Christmas,” said the Teikyo University sophomore, who headed back to the Japanese capital yesterday.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: