By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Displaying great courage and unyielding resolve, Karl Eldrew Yulo captured his second bronze medal to cap off his impressive maiden appearance at the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships at the Newport World Resorts in Pasay City on Monday, Nov. 24.
After losing the bronze medal in vault early in the day by a slim margin, Yulo made sure to hit the target and that what he exactly did in the horizontal bar final.
The 17-year-old sensation delivered a flawless routine and scored 14.000 to make another podium finish much to the delight of the fans inside the classy hotel.
Yulo opened with a 5.100 difficulty score — the second lowest among the eight finalists — but his impeccable execution earned him 8.800, plus an additional 0.100 for his stick landing.
His performance surpassed his 13.700 score in the qualifications where he placed sixth.
Colombia’s Camilo Vera bagged the gold with 14.533 while American Danila Leykin took the silver with 14.233.
Overall, it was a successful campaign for the Filipino rising star, who also bagged a bronze medal in the floor exercise the previous day. He, likewise, finished eighth in the individual all-around over the weekend.
Yulo’s two-bronze showing was his reward for all the sacrifices he made during a grueling six-month training in Japan under coach Munehiro Kugimiya, former mentor of his older brother, Paris Olympics double gold medalist Carlos Yulo.
