The need to be flawless
A battle-seasoned Carlos Yulo has morphed into a more driven version of himself, with his vision of striking Olympic gold, this time in Paris, still his biggest career target.
“I keep telling myself that this is my time. I’ve been doing this over and over, so I have to be confident,’’ said Yulo in Filipino with the opening of the quadrennial global Summer Games less than a day away.
The 24-year-old from Leveriza, Manila, perfectly comprehends the arduous task ahead—winning the second gold medal for the country after weightlifting heroine Hidilyn Diaz accomplished the feat in the Tokyo Olympics.
“There’s a big chance to win a gold,’’ said Yulo, a two-time world champion before ending up luckless in Tokyo three years ago.
But what really are his chances of becoming the second athlete after Diaz to win?
Yulo will see action in the all-around event where he will compete in six apparatuses, parallel bars, horizontal bar, pommel horse, rings, vault and the floor exercise.
Landing in the top 12 of the all-around during the qualifications on July 27 at Bercy Arena in the French capital will earn Yulo a pass to the final while finishing eighth or better in each of the apparatus will propel him to the medal round.
Overall, seven gold medals are at stake in Yulo’s discipline, but the Filipino ace prefers to focus his efforts on the parallel bars, vault and floor exercise.
The men’s all-around finale is set July 31, the medal round of the floor and vault are scheduled Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, while Aug. 5 is the D-day for the parallel bars.
Yulo recently won the all-around in the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, along with victories in his three pet events, rewarding him four gold medals in his last big tournament prior to the Olympics.
“My preparation for the Olympics is practically the same as how I prepared for the Asian championships. I’m focusing on my three apparatus (floor, vault and parallel bars) while trying to polish the other three,’’ said Yulo.
While Yulo knows that everything will boil down to the execution, his opponents are all obviously thinking the same.
Except for the Russians who performed well in Tokyo, most of the medalists in Yulo’s discipline are back with a similar quest.
Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat is raring to duplicate his floor exercise gold and China’s Zou Jingyuan wants to extend his reign in the parallel bars.
South Korea’s Shin Jea-Hwan won’t be around to defend his title in the vault together with silver medalist Denis Ablyazin of Russia, leaving Armenia’s bronze performer Artur Davtyan as the biggest threat.
Yulo, the 2019 world champion in the floor exercise and 2021 vault gold medalist, narrowly missed the bronze in the vault back in Tokyo.
Spain’s Rayderley Zapata was the silver medalist in the floor with China’s Xiao Ruoteng wound up with the bronze.
Germany’s Lukas Dauser and Turkiye’s Ferhat Arican are likewise the medal contenders in the parallel bars along with 20-year-old Illia Kovtun of Ukraine, the all-around silver medalist in the 2023 world championships held in Belgium.
“I’m trying to perfect my landings, especially in the floor and vault. I’m also improving my execution in the parallel bars,’’ said Yulo.
“I must have a flawless routine during the final,’’ Yulo said of his secret routines.
