Carlos Yulo during the floor exercise in men’s gymnastics of the 30th Southeast Asian Games. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Carlos Yulo thumped his chest and pointed to the sky after completing a spellbinding routine in the men’s floor exercise final as the hometown crowd at Rizal Memorial Coliseum drowned him in cheers.
With one final leap and twist, Yulo catapulted himself to a second gold medal after stamping his class yet again in his pet event.
The pint-sized powerhouse was second to perform and after earning a 14.700 from the judges, it was clear that the rest of the field was now left to battle it out for the silver.
Yulo, the first Filipino and Southeast Asian male to become a world champion gymnast, dethroned compatriot Reyland Capellan.
Capellan, the event’s back-to-back SEA Games gold medalist, missed out on a medal after sliding to fifth place with a 13.433.
Capellan was off to a rousing start but a faulty landing at the end cost him his place in the podium.
Tikomporn Surintornta of Thailand came in second with a score of 13.833 while Zur Bahrin Mat Asri of Malaysia bagged the bronze with 13.767.
