Gymnast Carlos Yulo gives PH its second Olympic gold 

Twice, Carlos Yulo let out a roar during the floor exercise finals of men’s gymnastics in the Paris Olympics.

The first came after he stuck a cold landing to cap his routine, a primal yell that let the world know he had done exactly what he had come to do late Saturday evening (Manila time)—produce an almost perfect run that would be the standard to beat for the title.

The second came when the judges agreed with him.

The wait that came after was tense, but it seemed only to prolong a forgone conclusion: Filipino greatness was on the global stage once again.

After Hidilyn

Yulo produced just the second gold of the Philippines in Olympics history, squeaking past a reigning Olympic champion at Bercy Arena, three years after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz’s breakthrough in Tokyo.

Yulo capped his routine with a front full into a three-and-a-half twist, which was impressive on its own, but then he stuck the landing emphatically to draw a huge applause from the audience, and an approving nod from the judges: the two-time world champion, who submitted a 6.600 difficulty, cleaned up with a near-flawless execution for a 15.000.It was the highest floor score in this year’s Games and was just .034 better than Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat, the gold medalist in Tokyo.

Dolgopyat, who submitted a 6.200 difficulty, finished with a 14.966, holding on to the lead before the 24-year-old Filipino came in and snatched the advantage.

Five other gymnasts followed, including Jake Jarman of Britain, who eventually claimed the bronze with a 14.933.

Yulo, who finished 12th in the all-around final, failed to make the medal round in the Tokyo Olympics, after fumbling a landing early in his routine.

This time, he stuck every landing at every pass emphatically, making it clear that he was back to the form that made him the event’s world champion in 2019.

Yulo opened with a two-and-a-half twist to front double pike. Then had a front double full to front double tuck. He had slight hops at the end of both. But after a full-twisting double layout, he stuck another landing and it was clear he was in the middle of something special.

“I did not hesitate. I just went for it,” Yulo told journalists after the medal ceremony.

Megaworld’s gift

In a statement shortly after Yulo’s victory, the property giant Megaworld Corp. gave the first glimpse of the windfall that awaits the latest Filipino sports hero upon his return home.

“As promised, we are giving Carlos Yulo a two-bedroom condo unit in one of our premier residential properties inside McKinley Hill in Taguig that will come furnished with appliances as well as furniture and fixtures, valued at approximately P24 million,’’ said Megaworld Corp. president Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso.“We are excited to welcome Caloy to his new home when he comes back!’’ Alfonso said.

Yulo’s triumph overshadowed an earlier victory by Nesthy Petecio, who smoked hometown bet Amina Zidani to reach the quarterfinals of the women’s 57kg boxing event.

After pawing gingerly at air in the first round, Petecio turned up the heat in the second, battering the No. 3 seed to score what looked like a knockdown that was counted by the referee.“When she got hit with my hook, I really felt my fist hit her plus she got hurt with body shots. She really got hurt with those body shots,” Petecio told local Olympics broadcaster OneSports after the bout at North Paris Arena.

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In between those victories by Yulo and Petecio, EJ Obiena qualified for the pole vault final but Carlo Paalam was shown the door in the men’s 57kg division after losing an ultra-tight quarterfinal duel against Australia’s Charlie Senior.

Obiena cleared 5.75m in the pole vault preliminaries to join 11 other athletes in the final round.

Boxer bows out

That 5.75 was the same standard cleared by nine other finalists, including world No. 1 and gold medal favorite Mondo Duplantis, but the Filipino will enter the final as the seventh seed via tiebreak.

Paalam lost a 3-2 split decision to Senior after both fighters started out indecisively in the first round.

Paalam began his attack in the second round to seize control of the match, launching combinations and landing clean shots against the game Senior, who managed to land effective but limited counters.

Both fighters fought evenly in the third, producing the result that would have been debatable even if the Filipino had won.

Paalam was looking to win a second Olympic medal after finishing with a silver in Tokyo. Instead, he joins fellow eliminated boxers Eumir Marcial and Hergie Bacyadan on the sidelines, leaving the Philippines with two fighters left, Petecio and Aira Villegas. INQ

By the Inquirer Sports Staff