Carlos Yulo braces for a packed 2023 with the hopes of punching a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
The 20-year-old gymnast told Daily Tribune that he will do his best to be at his peak – physically and mentally – as he shoots for a return flight to the Summer Games that will be held in 2024.
Aside from the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, Yulo is set to compete in the 2023 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium from 30 September to 8 October, where the top eight athletes in the men's all-around will earn an automatic slot in the Olympics.
Yulo will also see action in the 2023 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series – a four-leg tournament that will be held in Cottbus, Germany from 23 to 26 February, Doha, Qatar from 1 to 4 March, Baku, Azerbaijan from 9 to 12 March and Cairo, Egypt from 27 to 30 April.
Right now, Yulo is in town to spend the holidays with his family and friends following a very busy season that includes a successful campaign in the 2022 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championship in Liverpool last November, where he clinched a silver medal in vault and bronze medal in parallel bars.
"Pressure is nothing new to me since I have already joined a lot of competitions this year," Yulo said, adding that the elite World Cup series will make the coming year very challenging.
"But next year will be challenging, especially mentally because of the setup and the World Cup series."
"It will be three weeks of competition in the World Series. It's hard, but I'll try my best to get into the Olympics."
Yulo added that his Japanese coach, Munehiro Kugimiya, had already devised a rehabilitation plan to make sure that he will be on top of his game.
"We have a rehabilitation practice for the muscles and ligaments so that I won't get into too many accidents, especially on the legs because we've been doing the floor and vault a lot. Coach Mune bases it on strength," Yulo said.
"I'm taking things slowly because everything becomes clearer when I don't concentrate on all the competitions. I could mess up if I continue thinking of all the competitions."
