By Brian Yalung
Carlos Edriel “Caloy” Yulo is back on top after winning the gold medal in the men’s vault event of the 50th International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Artistic Gymnastics World Championships held in Kitakyushu, Japan, on Sunday (Oct. 24).
It was a big turnaround for the 21-year-old Olympian after finishing fifth in the floor exercise final on Saturday (Oct. 23). He scored an average of 14.916 points to take the top spot in the vault finals, ahead of Yonekura Hidenobu of Japan (14.866) and Medvedev Andrey of Israel (14.649).
Aside from his gold-medal winning performance in the vault finals, he followed it up with a silver medal showing in the parallel bars with scores of 8.900 in execution and 6.400 in difficulty to finish with 15.3 points.
Yulo officially won the silver when the last gymnast in the field, Shi Cong of China, scored 15.066 to settle for the bronze. The gold medal went to Hu Xuwei of China in the parallel bars with a score of 15.466.
In the Oct. 25 Laging Handa program, Presidential Spokesperson Sec. Harry Roque congratulated Yulo for his accomplishments, adding, “Patunay ito ng galing ng ating atletang Pilipino. “
In a chat with Yulo’s mom, Angelica Yulo, she shared how she told her son to just forget about the floor exercise event and bounce back in the vault event the next day.
“Sabi ko sa kanya, ayos lang, bawi bukas,” Mrs. Yulo said.
She also added that for sure that Caloy would be interviewed after the event because he would win. Mrs. Yulo also told him to greet his sister, Yza, a happy birthday.
Caloy vowed to bounce back. At that time, the 21-year-old also told his mom that even if failed to defend his title, it was okay and that he understood it was not meant for him.
“Okay naman ‘yung aura niya after noong ‘di niya na-defend ‘yung title nya. Okay na sa kanya, hindi daw para sa kanya ‘yun,” Angelica Yulo said.
There was perhaps no other person happier with Caloy’s win than his younger sister Yza.
“Sobrang proud kami sa kanya. Si Yza naiyak noong nanalo siya, kasi sabi niya ‘Hindi niya binreak ‘yung promise niya sa akin, mama,’” Caloy’s mom said.
When asked for her message to Caloy, Angelica Yulo said she hopes her son continues his dedication to training because the 21-year-old still has a lot of competitions ahead of him.
“Ipagpagpatuloy lang niya ‘yung pagiging dedicated niya sa training dahil madami pang competition na naghihintay sa kanya… at sobrang tuwang-tuwa kami dahil naka two medals siya,” Mrs. Yulo said. – jlo
