By Kristel Satumbaga
Gold medal gymnast Carlos Yulo is about to shower the 30th Southeast Asian Games with World Championship glitter.
World champion gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo trains at the gymnastics gym inside the Rizal Memorial in preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games. (MB Photo / Ali Vicoy)
Preparation heats up for athletes competing in the artistic gymnastics with world champion Yulo in the spotlight.
Yulo arrived in Manila from Japan without fanfare Thursday in time for his event starting tomorrow where the 19-year-old wonder guns for his first SEA Games medal.
He has been training over the last four years with Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya.
The atmosphere inside the Rizal Memorial gymnastics gym on Friday was serious and silent with all competitors and coaches focused on honing their routines in different apparatus.
Media interview was not allowed to avoid distracting the gymnasts.
Eyes, however, were all on Yulo after taking the global limelight last October by winning the floor exercise in the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
Wearing white shirt and blue shorts, the Manila native was in a zone as he took turns at the parallel bars, vault and pommel horse.
At times, he got pointers from Kugimiya.
Qualification and all-around event will be on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Coliseum with the apparatus competitions set on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Focus was also on Reyland Capellan as he bids to defend his gold medal victory in the floor exercise of the 2017 Kuala Lumpur edition. But it would be a tough order with Yulo, who was still a junior gymnast back then, as one of his rivals now.
Vietnamese gymnasts were also in full force during training as they seek to dominate the sport after reaping five gold medals in the men’s artistic event in the previous meet.
Also training were athletes from Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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