By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Not bad after all. Carlos “Caloy” Yulo will go home a happy man after winning two medals – silver and bronze – in the 51st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, England Sunday, Nov. 6.
Disappointed in his first two finals events, including his pet event – floor exercise – Yulo put on a courageous performance on the final day to bag a silver in vault and bronze in parallel bars to cap a wondrous showing this year.
He won a record five golds in the Hanoi SEA Games last May.
Though he failed to defend his title in vault, the little dynamo was contended with his performance, tallying 14.950 from his two vaults to finish second behind Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Artur Davtyan of Armenia.
The Armenian clinched the gold medal with 15.050.
Ukraine’s Igor Radivilov bagged the bronze with 14.733.
Yulo’s silver medal finish, somehow, erased the stigma of his failed bid in the all-around final where he finished eighth and seventh in the floor exercise.
He capped his day with a third-place showing in parallel bars where he scored 15.366 behind reigning Olympic champion Zou Jingyuan of China, who amassed an impressive 16.166 for his fourth world title in the event.
Germany’s Lukas Dauser went home with the silver after posting 15.500.
In last year’s edition in Kitakyushu, Japan, he went home with one gold (vault) and one silver (parallel bars).
Apart from winning five golds, Yulo also won two silvers in the Hanoi SEA Games, making him the most successful Filipino athlete this year.
