MANILA, Philippines – Filipino gymnastics star Carlos Yulo has ruled the floor exercise in practically every level – except the Olympics.
Yulo hopes to change that as he competes in the final of his signature event in the Paris Games at the Bercy Arena on Saturday, August 3.
The prospects of Yulo striking gold looks promising after he finished second in the qualification, registering 14.766 points to make the top-eight cutoff for the final.
Yulo is a former world champion in the apparatus and ruled the event thrice in the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships and twice in the Southeast Asian Games.
But posing as the biggest threat to Yulo’s golden bid is one of his good friends, Great Britain’s Jake Jarman, who topped the qualification with 14.966 points.
Jarman, who’s born to a Filipina mother, has shown consistency in the apparatus in this Olympics as he also netted the highest floor exercise score in the all-around final, where he posted 14.900 points.
Like Yulo, Jarman is seeking his first Olympic medal.
Reigning Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel also advanced to the final, although he placed a distant seventh in the qualification with 14.466 points.
Spain’s Rayderley Zapata, Ukraine’s Illia Kovtun, Great Britain’s Luke Whitehouse, China’s Zhang Boheng, and Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi complete the final cast.
After the floor exercise final, Yulo will see action in the vault final on Sunday, August 4. – Rappler.com
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