Yulo settles for bronze

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Paris Olympic double gold medalist Carlos Edriel Yulo scored 14.533 points and settled for the bronze medal in the men’s floor exercise finals Friday of the 53rd FIG Artistics Gymnastics World Championships.

Yulo, who ruled the event in the 2023 Paris Summer Games and in the 2019 edition held in Stuttgart, Germany, seemed out-of-sync after a four-day break since taking second in the qualifiers over the weekend with a slightly better score of 14.566.

He was able to salvage the bronze behind the 1-2 finish of two Britons, bannered by Paris Olympic bronze medalist Jake Jarman, who bagged his second world gold medal with a top score of 14.866 points while compatriot Luke Whitehouse  took the silver (14.666).

In a demanding discipline where minute increments can spell the difference between victory and defeat, the pint-sized Pinoy gymnast was penalized .333 points, which was the winning margin of Jarman over Yulo.

Backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Yulo, 25, was the second athlete on the mat, seemingly lacking the same dynamic and explosive energy he showcased in the Paris Summer Games where he reigned supreme with an output of 15.000 points.

As the second athlete to see action, he had a fleeting moment at the top with his dismal score after American Kameron Nelson opened the men’s floor exercise with a tally of 14.133 points

But his expression flashed on the huge video monitor after his performance was hinted that it might not last, and, true enough, Whitehouse wrested it away with a solid outing that netted him 14.666 points.