World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo and fast-rising world No. 6 pole vaulter EJ Obiena made waves overseas during the month of June, feats that convinced the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) to name them as the month’s top performers.
Yulo earned the PSA’s nod after winning three gold medals in the 9th Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships that was held in Doha, Qatar.
Yulo took first-place honors in the vault, parallel bars and floor exercise apart from settling for silver in the all-around, enabling him to earn an outright berth in the World Artistic Gymnastics set to take place in Liverpool, England, in late-October until early-November.
Obiena was not to be outdone by his fellow elite athlete.
The 6-foot-2 Italy-based Obiena registered 5.92 meters in winning the Taby Stavhoppsgala in Sweden just before the end of the month.
He did a season-best 5.92 meters to best a field made up of eight entries, including his training partner and 2016 Rio Olympics champion Thiago Braz of Brazil.
The two athletes’ solid showing came right after they crushed the opposition in the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi last May.
The PSA’s regular citation of outstanding Filipino athletes is backed by Milo, Pagcor, the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission and San Miguel Corporation.
