By REY C. LACHICA
PARIS – Three chances. Three golden opportunities.
No Filipino athlete has this kind of opportunity of winning multiple medals in a single edition of the Olympics since the country joined the global war for sporting supremacy in the beautiful French capital exactly 100 years ago.
That privilege belongs to a gymnast from Malate, Manila in Carlos Yulo – he with a great ambition for the country and massive and angry muscles despite standing barely 5-foot.
With his brute strength and grace that enables him to jump high, bounce and control his body weight with incredible ease, Yulo advanced to the finals of the all-around, floor exercise and vault in the men’s artistic gymnastics in the Paris Olympics after yet another powerful performance on Saturday, July 27, at the Bercy Arena here.
Given two days to prepare for his drive of redemption after a day of recovery, on Sunday, July 28, Yulo, 24, is hell-bent to change his narrative this time, starting with the all-around finals on Wednesday, July 31, also at the same famed arena.
The all-around event is absolutely not his bread and butter after tallying only 83.631 points to finish 9th in the prelims but gymnastics boss Cynthia Carreon insists Yulo was not yet in full form that day.
“He was just relaxed, pero after that, full force na sya sa training starting Monday,” said Carreon during an interview last Saturday.
The biggest stumbling blocks for Yulo in this event are Chinese first-timer Zhang Boheng and a pair of Japanese aces in Shinnosuke Oka and defending champion Daiki Hashimoto.
The Chinese was spectacular in his routines he produced an eye-popping 88.567 while Oka was a far second with 86.865 and Hashimoto 85.064.
That makes Yulo a clear underdog in this contest but Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Dicky Bachmann are praying for miracles.
If he fails in this event, he has two more chances – on Aug. 3 for the floor exercise, an event he reigned during the 2019n World Championships, and on Aug. 4 for the vault.
