By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Tokyo Olympian Carlos Yulo returned home to Manila Tuesday night, March 14, to participate in the launching of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines’ (GAP) grassroots developmental program.
GAP President Cynthia Carrion said Yulo will be the main speaker in their event happening on Friday, March 17, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex’s Gymnastics Hall in Malate, Manila.
Carrion hopes Yulo’s presence will be enough to inspire about a hundred aspiring young gymnasts participating in the event.
It can be recalled that Yulo grew up watching gymnasts train at the very same venue they are holding the event, where he was eventually discovered.
The rest, as they say, was history as the 23-year-old Leveriza native went on to become a multiple Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) gold medalist, a three-time Asian titlist, a two-time world champion, an Olympian, and more recently, a double-gold winner at the World Cup Series.
Yulo is expected to stay in the country for 13 days before he leaves for Japan where he will resume training for upcoming tournaments including the fourth and final leg of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series set April 27 to 30 in Cairo, Egypt.
He is also set to compete in the 32nd SEAG in Cambodia in May, and the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium in September, which serves as a qualifier to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
