By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Carlos Yulo banners a strong Philippine contingent – his younger sister Elaiza included – in the 53rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia slated next week.
The 25-year-old Yulo will compete along with fellow Southeast Asian Games medalists Juancho Besana, John Ivan Cruz and Justine Ace De Leon, as well as Haylee Garcia and fellow Paris Olympians Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo.
The competition kicks off on Sunday, Oct. 19, with three days of qualification rounds. Finals are scheduled from Oct. 22 to 25.
Yulo enters the tournament as one of the country’s most decorated gymnasts, boasting of two World Championship gold medals – in floor exercise (2019 Stuttgart) and vault (2021 Kitakyushu). He also holds two silver medals in parallel bars (2021 Kitakyushu) and vault (2022 Liverpool), along with two bronzes in floor exercise (2018 Doha) and parallel bars (2022 Liverpool).
But what makes Yulo one of the favorites in the event was his winning two golds in the Paris Games – floor exercise and vault.
At the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, Yulo narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in the floor exercise — the only apparatus he qualified for.
As expected, Japan is fielding a powerhouse team featuring reigning champions Daiki Hashimoto, Hiroto Ishizawa, Kiichi Kaneta, Kazuki Minami, Oka Shinnosuke, and Tomoharu Tsunogai.
One of Yulo’s main rivals, reigning floor exercise champion Artem Dolgopyat, is notably absent from the current entry list as of Oct. 10. Dolgopyat and the rest of the Israeli team were barred from competing, though the Israeli federation has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for an injunction allowing their participation.
Also competing is Jake Jarman, a British gymnast of Filipino descent, who won gold in vault at the previous edition.
