Philippines trailblazer Yulo adds Asian Games gold to Olympic success in gymnastics

NAGOYA, Japan – Carlos Yulo, the Philippines' first Olympic gymnastics champion, clinched an Asian Games gold medal on Thursday, adding to his Olympic success in Japan. Standing at just 4 feet 11 inches tall, Yulo trained in Japan on a scholarship from the local Olympic committee and delivered a technically precise routine to secure the floor exercise gold before the enthusiastic Nagoya crowd.

His brother Karl was competing in the same final, with Yulo taking the lead with a score of 14.666, narrowly beating Kazakh Milad Karimi's 14.600 in a thrilling finish. Shoma Tsukiyama of Japan placed third with a score of 14.566. The three gold medallists' scores differed by only a tenth of a point. Yulo became the first Filipino to win multiple Olympic gold medals, previously claiming the floor and vault titles at the Paris Games.

Having failed to secure a podium finish at the 2018 Asian Games, Yulo expressed relief at finally having a complete set of world, Olympic, and continental titles. He told reporters, "We can just relax and really hope for the best tomorrow." Yulo will continue his pursuit of a second Asian Games gold in the vault competition on Friday at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium.