Aiming for perfect 10

Gymnastics bet Carlos Yulo is determined to run his routine flawlessly and capture the elusive podium finish in the Paris Olympics.

He said he doesn’t want a repeat of his 2021 nightmare in Tokyo.

Yulo’s training for the Summer Games next month shifts into higher gear as he is scheduled to fly to Metz, France on 29 June and rendezvous with the national team for a training camp.

There will be no changes in the 24-year-old gymnasts’ routine.

“I am focused on polishing my routine and building my stamina. I don’t need to upgrade because my routine in the Asian Championships will be the same in the Olympics,” Yulo said during a presser organized by Arena Plus Thursday in Taguig City.

‘I have a good difficulty and the execution makes it a contender for the gold medal.’

“We’ve been doing the routine a lot. There isn’t any easy way and I need to go to the gym and give my best in every training.”

Despite showcasing a familiar run in his Olympics campaign, Yulo likes his chances of snaring a gold medal based on the progress of his preparation.

“I have a good difficulty and the execution makes it a contender for the gold medal,” a very confident Yulo said.

Yulo is one of the country’s strongest medal bets in the Paris Games set from 26 July to 11 August along with boxers Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, and pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena.

But unlike back in the Tokyo edition where he was the lone Filipino in the sport, this time he will be joined by Filipino-American gymnasts Levi Ruivivar, Emma Malabuyo and Aleah Finnegan.

“I’m happy that I’m not alone in the Olympics. We got three more to compete there and it’s a big deal for the gymnastics community in the Philippines,” Yulo said.

In his final competition before the Summer Games, Yulo won the gold medal in the men’s individual all-around of the 2024 AGU Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent last May.

But stepping into the top podium in his pet events floor exercise and vault is easier said than done.

Yulo will have to contend against Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat, who is favored to win it all in floor exercise following his conquest in the 2023 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp.

Yulo came home empty-handed in the same competition.

It doesn’t come any easier in the vault, as he will be competing against eight-time FIG Apparatus World Cup champion Artur Davtyan of Armenia.

Davtyan dethroned Yulo in the 2022 edition of the World Championships in Liverpool.