Yulo starts quest for golden double

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The quest for Carlos Yulo to accomplish a golden double in the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships starts Friday with the men’s floor exercise finals at the Indonesia Arena here.

Given a four-day respite, Yulo will be primed and ready to take to the floor at the 16,500-seater arena that also served as the site of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at 3 p.m. (Manila time).

“Rest and recovery, of course, is really important. That is non-negotiable, especially at this really high intensity level,” said the Paris Olympic double gold medalist, whose stint here is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.

“It also helps me to calm down. To compose my mental state and allow me to get focused once again in the competition when it is needed,” added the ace gymnast, who will be the second athlete to perform after American Kameron Nelson.

Yulo was second in the qualifiers held over the weekend with a score of 14.566 points behind Briton Jake Jarman, who topped with 14.700 and will be the seventh entry on the mat, looming as the biggest threat to the Filipino campaigner.

The pint-sized Pinoy twister will be gunning for his second mint in the world meet after securing his first with a golden performance of 15.300 points, a personal best, in the 2019 edition held in Stuttgart, Germany.

Yulo arrived in the Indonesian capital more than a week ago together with the other members of the national men’s squad after undergoing three weeks of intensive training in Tokyo, Japan.

“Carlos is ready to go and he has prepared very well for the floor exercise. We made some improvements to his routine, and, if all goes well, we might land another gold medal at the world championships,” Australian coach Nedal Alyousef, who has been handling the national team since April, said.

Yulo will also eye his second vault gold in the world meet on the last day of the apparatus finals on Saturday, capping seven days of intense and exciting gymnastics action.

He will aim to add a second to his collection to the initial one he won four years ago in the 40th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships held in Kitakyushu, Japan.