The Philippines’ Carlos Edriel Yulo competes in the men’s parallel bars competition during the ninth Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Qatar’s capital Doha on June 18, 2022. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines–Gymnastics fireball Carlos Yulo has become a smash hit with golden stunts at nearly all levels, but there’s one more precious mint he must collect to cement his heroic stature.
Yulo vowed to fill up the lone void in the collection by aiming to qualify in at least four events in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a gold medal as the ultimate goal.
“We will try our best to qualify in four events in the Olympics,” said Yulo during the victory party of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City on Tuesday.
With a sculpted physique at 4-foot-11, the current world champion in men’s vault is looking at the same event that could send him to Paris as well as in the parallel bars, floor exercise and individual all-around.
“If I’m going to rate myself in terms of my Olympic preparation, I’m eight out of 10,’’ said Yulo after yielding gold medals in the parallel bars, vault and floor exercise and silver in the individual all-around over the weekend at the 9th Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar.
He arrived Sunday evening, spent an entire day with his family on Monday and returned to the mat right late in the afternoon following Tuesday’s gathering with the media.
According to GAP president Cynthia Carrion, coach Munehiro Kugimiya confided to her that Yulo is capable of seizing qualifying spots in the vault and parallel bars apparatuses together in the floor exercise and individual all-around in Paris.
Yulo said they would try something new in the parallel bars and vault in preparation for the Olympics.
“We will increase the level of difficulty in these routines,’’ said Yulo, who harvested five gold medals and two silver medals in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Yulo’s path to his Olympic dream will be laid out next year after the world championships in Liverpool, England in October and two more meets in Japan come September and December.
On Wednesday, Yulo will again burn time honing his skills from sunup to sundown at the MVP Sports Foundation Gymnastics Center in Intramuros, Manila before flying back to Japan on Thursday.
The 22-year-old who humbly began his career in the sport while playing in a park in Leveriza, Manila, was also a world champion in the floor exercise in 2018 and became a cut above the rest in the continent with his recent conquest in the Doha Asian champs.