Karl Eldrew Yulo eyes being a kid again after second bronze

Karl Eldrew Yulo’s performance on the horizontal bar produces another bronze. —MARLO CUETO

Young gun Karl Eldrew Yulo has stamped his mark as one of the fastest rising stars in gymnastics today.

He solidified his case at the end of the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championship, when he won two medals in the global competition against fellow young gymnasts from all around the world.

After winning bronze in the floor exercise finals on Saturday, Yulo booked another podium finish 24 hours later, this time in the horizontal bar finals.

Amidst all the glory and newfound hardware, though, Yulo reminded everyone he’s still a kid after all.

“I just want to have fun now, rest, swim, eat, unwind, and do it (compete) again and again. That’s the only thing on my mind right now,” an ecstatic Yulo told reporters.

“I’m so proud of myself, even though I only got bronze. People can say it’s ‘just a bronze,’ but this symbolizes my hard work too. This is for the blood, tears and disappointments I had before.”

The younger Yulo initially scored 13.900 points for his routine but was given a 0.100 score addition due to a stick landing bonus.

In the end, his 14.000 points—a total he achieved using a rare Cassina routine—was sufficient for a bronze.

Just missed podium

Colombia’s Vera Camilo and American Danila Leykin copped the top two podium steps, respectively, with 14.533 and 14.233 points.

Yulo came oh-so-close to going home with three medals but just missed the podium of the vault finals.

The young dynamo had a promising first routine in the vault apparatus after tallying 13.933 points. In his second attempt, though, he tallied just 13.500 points. Overall, the younger Yulo registered 13.716 points for a fourth-place finish.

Yulo needed only 0.300 points more to gain his second medal of the Manila games. Great Britain’s Evan McPhillips notched the bronze medal with 13.950 points.

Arsenii Dukhno won his second gold medal of this year’s Junior World’s with 14.433 points. British bet Scott Sol finished second with 14.066 points. INQ