Caloy proud to see brother shine

Carlos Yulo is overflowing with pride seeing his younger brother — Karl Eldew — shine on the global stage during the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships late Thursday.

The double Olympic gold medalist said seeing Eldrew making a name for himself is such a proud moment, not just for him but for the entire family as well.

The 17-year-old Eldrew put on a show as he advanced to the finale of the individual all-around, floor exercise, vault and horizontal bar events in the men’s subdivision 4.

He scored a 14.233 in the floor exercise, just behind the top-ranked Authorized Neutral Athlete Arsenii Dukhno, who garnered a mark of 14.500, while tallying 13.750 in vault for fifth place.

He also posted 13.700 in the horizontal bar for sixth before qualifying in the individual all-around with a total score of 78.332, which is good for 15th place.

“I saw his progress and he really worked hard for it. To be able to make it to the finals, it’s a huge thing for him to experience,” Yulo said at the sidelines of his younger brother’s victorious performance at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.

“He did a good job.”

Yulo has been the toast of Philippine gymnastics. He cut his teeth at the Rizal Memorial Gymnastics Center before leaving for Japan in 2016, where he trained under the watchful eyes of Munehiro Kugimiya. With that, Yulo emerged as an 11-time Asian champion and a three-time world champion with a pair of Olympic gold medals from Paris hanging around his neck, making him the most successful Filipino Olympian ever.

Although his younger brother is also now being trained by his former Japanese mentor, Yulo swears that they have contrasting styles.

“He moves differently from me. I am just happy because he is part of the next generation, and I am hoping next year, he will be able to join more competitions,” the 25-year-old Yulo said.

Eldrew said he is happy seeing the roles reversed this time after cheering for his older brother back when the country hosted the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2019.

“I am just happy because back then, we would support Kuya in the 2019 SEA Games. Now it’s my turn,” said Eldrew, who will start his medal hunt on Saturday when he competes in the individual all-around.

He will also vie in the floor exercise final on Sunday as well as the vault and horizontal bar finals on Monday.