Gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo bagged the individual all-around bronze medal in the junior men’s division of the Voronin Cup in wintry Moscow, Russia.
According to the Facebook account of delegation head Bettina Pou, the 16-year-old Olympic prospect performed competitively in all six artistic events—floor, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and high bars—to reach the medal podium.
Early this year, Yulo scooped five medals in the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Washington, including golds in the floor and vault events.
“Winning a medal in the all-around is a big deal because it means you are competitive in all six events,” said Pou, secretary general of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines.
Yulo, a former Palarong Pambansa standout, is the only gymnast from among 16 Filipino athletes whose training is directly supported by the International Olympic Committee for the sole objective of qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Pou said Yulo trained in Japan for almost seven months. —JUNE NAVARRO