Carlos Yulo anchors PH campaign in Asian Gymnastics Championships, eyes spot in worlds
MANILA, Philippines – Expectations are high for Carlos Yulo as he anchors the Philippines’ campaign in the senior level of the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Singapore starting on Thursday, June 15.
Yulo will compete in the men’s individual all-around final and men’s team all-around final together with Ivan Cruz, Juancho Miguel Besana, Justine Ace de Leon, and Jan Gwynn Timbang on Thursday with hopes of earning a spot in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
The 23-year-old Yulo needs a top-eight finish in the individual all-around to advance to the global gymnastics showdown in September in Antwerp, Belgium, where coveted berths in the 2024 Paris Olympics are at stake.
If the last Asian championships are any indication, Yulo is a cinch for the worlds after bagging the individual all-around silver in Doha, Qatar in 2022.
Yulo also eyes seats in the apparatus finals as he looks to replicate his dominant showing in the previous continental showpiece.
The Philippines finished with the second-most gold medals in Doha solely thanks to Yulo, who ruled the floor exercise, parallel bars, and vault.
Not to be undone, Cruz and Besana aim to contribute to the medal haul after bagging the floor exercise and vault golds in the recent Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
In the distaff side, Aleah Finnegan will fly the national colors together with Emma Malabuyo, Kylie Kvamme, Lucia Gutierrez, and Ancilla Lucia Mari Manzano in the women’s individual and team all-around events on Friday, June 16.
Finnegan takes the lead after powering the women’s team to the all-around gold in the Vietnam SEA Games in 2022 and bagging the vault crown in the same event.
The Philippines received a major shot in the arm with the inclusion of Malabuyo, who previously represented the United States and got named as an alternate for its Olympic team in the Tokyo Games.
Kvamme is also a new addition to the team, while Manzano and Gutierrez were part of the gold-winning squad in the SEA Games. – Rappler.com