By REY C. LACHICA
PARIS – Carlos Yulo’s first Olympic gold medal was awesome, but his second one was mind-boggling.
“It was a big bonus, I did not expect it, ” a smiling Yulo said. “All I wanted is to perform my routines the way I wanted it to be. At ang importante, safe ako at walang injury at the end of the competition.”
“I’m really blessed and grateful for that.”
Though his chances for a podium were high, only few believed he would win again 24 hours after becoming the first Filipino to capture an Olympic gymnastics title in the floor exercise.
And he credited his second gold to a very relaxed approach – free of any distractions and troubles that beset his personal life back home.
“Mas chilled at relaxed ako ngayon kasi I have nothing to lose. Nanalo na ako ng gold sa floor so di ko alam ang sasabihin ko,” added Yulo.
He encountered some troubled nights before the finals of the floor exercise – an event where he won his first world championship in 2019.
After ruling that event, everything went into proper places, reason why Yulo managed to give it his all – his first vault was jaw-dropping.
“Nawala lahat ang stress sa katawan ko after winning the floor exercise,” said Yulo.
Called Dragulescu, Yulo landed almost in perfect position though he made slight step backwards, thus earning 15.433 points.
His second vault was equally spectacular, coming through with a Kasamatsu double twist for a14.800 and a whopping average of15.116.
Fully satisfied with his performance, he bowed gently to the cheers of the happy crowd.
The cheers got louder when his scores were flashed on a giant monitor above, confirming that he had overtaken Armenian Artur Davtyan and British Harry Hepworth, who eventually finished second and third respectively with 14.966 and 14.949.
Fil-British Jake Jarman wound up fourth with14.933.
So chilled and relaxed Yulo was he congratulated all his rivals each time they completed their vaults.
“It’s our own way to show respect to one another. Dapat sports sports tayo sa lahat ng bagay,” said Yulo.
A stress-free approach can indeed do wonders.
