Karl Eldrew Yulo briefly threatened to break into the podium but settled for eighth place in the men’s individual all-around finals of the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships on Saturday at the Manila Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.
Performing before another packed crowd that included Tokyo Olympic weightlifting champion Hidilyn Diaz, Yulo surged as high as second after topping the floor exercise—his fourth rotation—with a standout 14.300, the highest score of the day in that event.
But the 16-year-old’s medal bid faded after he posted 13.000 on the pommel horse and 12.066 on the rings, allowing the rest of the field to overtake him as he completed his program ahead of the others. A shaky dismount on the parallel bars further hampered his run, limiting him to 12.833 despite an otherwise impressive routine.
Yulo’s other scores included 13.466 on the vault and 13.006 on the horizontal bar in the FIG-sanctioned tournament hosted by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and supported by the Office of the President, the Philippine Sports Commission, and PAGCOR.
Concerns briefly rose when Yulo skipped post-competition interviews to seek immediate treatment for a sprained right ankle. He later returned—30 minutes after—apologizing for the delay and assuring reporters he remained fit to continue.
“Biglang sumakit pagkatapos ng triple twist ko sa floor,” he explained. “Medyo may kirot, pero Pilipino tayo. Ilalaban natin ‘to.”
Despite narrowly missing the podium, Yulo said he remained proud of his performance after jumping from 15th in the qualifiers to a top-eight finish.
“I am still proud of myself even if I didn’t make the top three,” he said. “Next time I will do my very best. Hindi kinaya ng powers ko, but it’s okay since I still have events left.”
GAP president Cynthia Carrion echoed that sentiment, noting that the result still places Yulo among the world’s elite juniors.
“He had a very good floor exercise, but the pommel horse and rings pulled him down,” Carrion said. “But Eldrew assured he will go for gold in his remaining events.”
Yulo returns to action today in the floor exercise finals—his strongest event—where he qualified second, before closing his campaign with the vault and horizontal bar finals on Monday.
