Carlos Yulo —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Carlos Edriel Yulo struck another gold by topping the men’s vault final at the end of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday.
Coming off a victory in the parallel bars on Saturday, Yulo averaged 14.933 after two attempts—the first a handspring double front pike good for 15.033 and his second vault netting 14.833—that propelled the Filipino to the top prize.
Harry Hepworth of Great Britain placed second and Wai Hung Shek of Hong Kong claimed the bronze in the event where leading finals qualifier Mahdi Olfati of Iran bombed out and wound up fourth with 14.399.
Yulo increased his golden haul to three in the four-leg World Cup after claiming the floor exercise title in the Doha, Qatar stage last week where the 4-foot-11 fireball also got a silver in the parallel bars and a bronze in the vault.
The Tokyo Olympian opened his campaign in Cottbus, Germany with a bronze in the parallel bars.
Yulo’s next and final stop is the fourth leg of the World Cup in Cairo on April 27-30.
This year’s World Cup series is a qualifier for the apparatus events in the 2023 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium on Sept. 30 to Oct. 8, which offers spots to the 2024 Paris Olympics. INQ