Yulo confident ahead of worlds

Paris Olympics double gold medalist Carlos Yulo will be more relaxed and composed when he competes in the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta, which starts on Sunday.

Yulo, 20, said he hopes he will be able to move a lot more naturally after his triumph in the Paris Summer Games last year as he competes in the men’s individual all-around as well as in the floor exercise and vault apparatuses.

He will also compete in the team all-around along with teammates Juancho Miguel Besana, John Ivan Cruz and Justine Ace de Leon.

“Right now I’m really focusing on doing All-Arounds at the same time doing Vault and Floor. The weight in the press leading to the Paris Olympics, that was really heavy for me,” Yulo said in an article by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

“But after winning the Olympic medals, the pressure went down and I don’t have to really put so much stress on myself — (I can) just kind of really be who (I am).”

With Yulo being eyed to represent the country in future competitions like the 20th Asian Games in Japan next year and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Yulo said he will have to be pick which tournaments he will join as part of his training.

“It was really tough, but after having so much pressure on me, right now I feel like I just need to really pick what I’m going to be focusing on, especially on the big competitions like World Championships, Asian Games,” said Yulo, who skipped this year’s FIG Apparatus World Cup last February.

“Right now I have a high chance to show a good quality of gymnastics. I think that after winning the gold medals really makes me move easily because the weight is not that much on me.”

Months after his Olympic triumph, Yulo won a gold medal in floor exercise and three bronze medals individual all-around, vault and parallel bars at the Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships last June in Jecheon, South Korea.

He also has been training in Japan since August to better prepare for the World Championships.