Carlos Yulo during the floor exercise gymnastics event in the Tokyo Olympics. INQUIRER PHOTO/FRANCIS OCHOA
MANILA, Philippines–Gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo didn’t make it to the anticipated medal round of his pet event while taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa and Filipino-American swimmer Remedy Rule crashed out of their initial salvo in the Tokyo Olympics.
For Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez, these setbacks should not be a cause of alarm because losing happens even to the finest athletes in these Games.
Ramirez cited the case of Japanese gymnastics celebrity and two-time Olympic champion King Kohei Uchimura, whose fall off the horizontal bar in the qualifying round of the men’s artistic gymnastics (MAG) on Saturday ended his reign.
“I told Caloy not to worry too much because these things really happen even to the best athletes,’’ said Ramirez, who talked to Yulo prior to his vault competition.
Yulo, one of the country’s brightest hopes for a gold medal in these Olympics, wasn’t able to advance to the finals of the floor exercise in the MAG where he’s the current world champion.
“It’s his (Yulo) first Olympics. I feel for Caloy because he was pressured, but he should not worry because he has the (2024) Paris Olympics to look forward to,’’ said Ramirez.
The PSC chief made an example of Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, who played in three consecutive Olympics before landing the medal in 2016 Rio De Janeiro.
Diaz first saw action in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a wildcard entry and came out empty-handed even in the 2012 London Games.
“An athlete would be very lucky if he wins a medal in his first Olympics, so I told Caloy that we understand,’’ said Ramirez.
With the PSC’s experience with Diaz, Ramirez explained that the solution is to build a team around the athlete to help the latter achieve ultimate success.
“We replicated this strategy based on the success of Diaz. An athlete must have his own coaches, a nutritionist, a psychologist and a physiologist, among others,’’ said Ramirez.
“You just cannot send an athlete without a team around him and dream about winning the gold (medal),’’ added Ramirez.