Younger Yulo proves dominant as well

FILE–Karl Eldrew Yulo. Photo from Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya

Karl Eldrew Yulo is fast shaping up as a certified medal threat for the Philippine men’s national gymnastics team after sweeping all individual accolades in a recent high-profile meet in Hong Kong.

Besides clinching the gold medal in the men’s individual all-around, the nation’s best junior gymnast asserted his dominance in the six apparatuses—vault, floor exercise, parallel bars, horizontal bars, still rings and pommel horse—in the junior men’s division.

Eldrew, Olympic double-gold medalist Carlos Yulo’s younger brother, secured an eighth gold medal in the Chiu Wai Chung Cup in the team event with Hillarion III Palles, King Cjay Pernia and Marc Nathan Ayson, ahead of the national team’s assessment beginning on Thursday.

“They are really doing a good job prior to the 19th when we start the team’s evaluation. We have other people coming in that want to be part of our team,” said Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion.

Yulo, a two-time Siklab Youth Sports Awardee for gymnastics, captured more than half of the 14 golds won by the Filipino gymnasts in the four-nation competition, where the finest from Chinese Taipei, China and host Hong Kong participated.

Juancho Miguel Besana led the PH seniors squad with three individual gold medals in the floor exercise, pommel horse and individual all-around. INQ