By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno | Philippine News Agency
Carlos Edriel Yulo overhauled Philippine sports history with a second Olympic gold in Paris on Sunday, ruling the Men’s Gymnastics Vault Finals at Bercy Arena.
Following his floor exercise win on Saturday, Yulo became the first Filipino male athlete to win multiple golds in the Olympics—in a single year.
Yulo’s first try set the tone for the rest of the final round as his near-perfect routine garnered him 15.433 points, the highest single-vault attempt score for the night.
After tallying a 14.8 in his second vault, he finished with a total of 15.116, enough to deny Great Britain a 1-2 finish.
Armenian Artur Davtyan, the last to perform, scored two consistent runs for a 14.966 average to overtake the British duo of Harry Hepworth and Jake Jarman and take the silver.
Hepworth, who scored the best second attempt with 15.066 points, ended up with the bronze at 14.949.
Jarman, the half-Filipino gymnast who was bronze medalist in the floor finals, dropped to fourth at 14.933.
A 0.1-point deduction in his first attempt eventually denied Jarman another podium finish.
Yulo’s vault win gave the Philippines its fourth medal in the Paris Olympics, barely an hour after boxer Nesthy Petecio secured at least a bronze.
Petecio dominated Chinese Xu Zichun in the quarterfinals of the Women’s 57 kilogram at Paris North Arena in Villepinte, France.
She put on a virtual clinic with her punching accuracy and brilliant head movement to frustrate Xu, who struggled to connect on her shots.
Three judges, Holger Kussmaul, Yermek Suiyenish, and Wade Peterson, scored the bout 30-27, while Jakov Peterson and Cho Jung-Sook had it 29-28, all for the Davao del Sur native, who will become the only Filipino female athlete to have multiple Olympic medals.
The 2021 Tokyo silver medalist will try to upgrade to another silver when she takes on Poland’s Julia Szeremeta in the semifinals at Roland Garros Stadium early Thursday (PH time).
Szeremeta scored a similar unanimous decision win against Puerto Rico’s Ashleyann Lozada.
The four-medal count as of Sunday, one from virtual bronze medalist Aira Villegas (women’s boxing 50kg), matched the total number of medals the Filipinos hauled in Tokyo.
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the country’s first gold medalist in Tokyo, immediately posted a message for Yulo.
“Congratulations ulit, Caloy! Ang galing! Ipinagmamalaki kita hindi lang sa mga medalya mo kundi dahil sa hirap na pinagdaanan mo para makamit ang tagumpay, para sa sarili at higit pang lalo, para sa bayan,” Diaz wrote on Facebook.
“Magkikita tayo d’yan, Caloy, at mahigpit na yakap mula sa Ate Haidie mo! God bless you!” she added.
“Answered prayers. We already broke the record in the Olympics,” Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino told reporters in Paris.
World No. 2 pole vaulter EJ Obiena can make it five medals during his final round Tuesday, starting at approximately 1 a.m. (PH time).
Meanwhile, hurdlers John Cabang and Lauren Hoffman will try to qualify for the finals via the repechage.
Cabang finished sixth in Heat 1 of the Men’s 110-meter Hurdles with a time of 13.66 seconds. Three-time world champion and 2021 Tokyo silver medalist Grant Holloway of the US ruled the heats in 13.01 to lead the 18-man outright cut.
Hoffman was eighth in Heat 4 of the Women’s 400m Hurdles with a time of 57.83 seconds.
