AIMING for a podium finish, the Philippines’ representative for Gymnastics, Carlos “Caloy” Yulo, secured his slot after making it through the final round of the vault exercise in the men's all-around of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Japan last July 24.

Unforeseen Mishap

Yulo tallied a score of 14.712 for the vault-exercise event, enough to advance to the finals. Pulling off a Kasamatsu double full on his first vault for an execution score of 9.166 and a Dragulescu in his second one with a 9.058 score. 

Despite advancing to the finals in the vault-exercise, the 21-year old gymnast struggled to secure a place in five other events where he failed to keep up with the world’s best, including his pet event – floor exercise, where he is expected to be in the top eight. Yulo fell short in his routine on his first landing and almost flopping his second one which dealt a huge blow on his execution – settling with a score of 13.566 and finishing only at 44th place. 

In the other events, the gymnast garnered a score of 14.000 in the rings where he finished 24th; 13.4666 in the parallel bars ending at 55th place; ranked 63rd in the horizontal bar with a total of 12.3; and nabbed 69th place in the pommel horse with a score of 11.833. 

He managed to place in the 47th spot with a total score of 79.931, failing to qualify for the individual all-around finals as only the top 24 gymnasts will qualify for the said event.

Subverted Expectation

In a statement Yulo made with a Philippine dispatch from Tokyo, he was shocked that he was even qualified in the first place. When asked about his chances of securing a medal, he said that he isn’t optimistic about it, but that doesn't mean that he won’t put up a fight. He admitted that it was hard because there are a lot of competent gymnasts. “Kaya pa pong itaas ‘yan [his qualification score],” he added.

The young gymnast returned to action last Aug. 2 for the vault finals, but narrowly missed the mark with only a fraction of a point from securing bronze. He scored 14.716 in his first attempt but managed to score 14.866 in his second attempt in which he nailed a final score of 14.716, owning the 4th place. 

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Caloy assured his supporters that he would do better in the upcoming Olympic games as he intends to compete in the 2024 Paris Games and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Yulo also intends to earn a medal in his next attempt. “Ayoko na po 'yung basta sumali [lang] ako,” he added.

Yulo is the first Filipino and the first male gymnast to secure a win in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, earning a bronze medal in 2018 in floor exercise; and the very first gold medal for the Philippines in 2019’s SEA Games for the same exercise event. He is one of the country's top bets for this year’s Olympic games.