Carlos Yulo bound for Paris Olympics

CARLOS Edriel Yulo qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics after a fantastic performance on Sunday at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

Yulo, 23, who previously represented the Philippines in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, earned his spot by finishing as the highest-ranked qualifying competitor in his event floor exercise.

He previously missed the all-around finals after landing on his back during the vault exercise.

Yulo finished third with 14.600 points, after top finisher Artem Dolgopyat of Israel (15.100) and second placer Fred Richard of the United States (14.600).

Dolgopyat and Richard, on the other hand, have already qualified for the Games in Paris, making Yulo the next greatest athlete to compete.

After EJ Obiena’s record-breaking gold medal performance at the Asian Games, Yulo became the second Filipino athlete to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

This was confirmed in a Facebook post from the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). 

“He proudly joins the elite ranks of Filipino athletes securing a Paris berth alongside the number two pole vaulter in the world, EJ Obiena,” the POC said.

Team PH at the Asian Games

Meanwhile, Team Philippines now has 9 medals, including 7 bronzes, 1 silver, and Obiena’s gold medal, at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Obiena set a new Asian Games record of 5.90 meters while winning his first Asian Games title.

He also awarded the Philippines its first continental athletics title since the late Lydia de Vega won the women’s 100 meter dash in 1986.

He broke Japan’s Seito Yamamoto’s previous Asian Games record of 5.70m, set in 2018.

The Philippines is looking to bag more medals, as the country is currently ranked 19th in the tally. 

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