Later this month, Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo will be heading to the 41st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, England. And as a two-time gold medalist at the World Championships, he is favored to win again.
In addition, in his recent competition, the All-Japan Seniors Championships, he won the gold medal for the men’s floor exercise. However, he was unable to compete in the rest of the events after sustaining a minor hand injury.
Road to recovery
Carlos Yulo impressed at the men’s floor exercise event of the 55th All-Japan Seniors Championships, taking home the gold medal. In addition, at the tournament last month, he was also able to win the bronze medal for the vault event.
His performances in Japan have been a platform for him to prepare for his next big event: the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championship.
However, the Filipino Olympian sustained a hand injury after a bad fall on the horizontal bar. Yulo also posted a video on Instagram, and in the caption wrote, “Itβs all about standing up after that fall. To give your all till the dismount, to not give up on what you love, to search for ways to improve and to not lose to yourself in every day training.”
The President of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP), Cynthia Carrion also released a message yesterday, asking for prayers for his recovery from the injury.
Despite the worry surrounding Yulo’s injury, his long-time coach Munehiro Kugimaya believes that the gold medalist will be recovered come the World Championships.
Road to redemption
This year’s Artistic Gymnastics World Championships will mark Carlos Yulo’s fourth time competing at the event. His first appearance was in 2018, when he won the bronze medal for his main event, the floor exercise.
In the following edition, he went on to improve and win the gold medal in the said event. However, in 2021, he finished fifth in the floor exercise, although he still bagged the gold for vault and the silver for the parallel bars.
This year, Carlos will definitely be looking to redeem himself from his last floor exercise performance. But more than that, he will also be striving to defend his gold medal in the vault event.
During an online program held by the Philippine Sports Commission yesterday, GAP President Cynthia Carrion shared, “This will be a great opportunity for Caloy.”
Thus, Yulo’s team will be capitalizing on this opportunity fully. As the tournament will start on October 29 to November 6 in Liverpool, the Filipino will be preparing at a five-day training camp in Paris from October 19 to 24.