FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT

At such a young age, Karl Eldrew Yulo already has a pair of bronze medal from no less than the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships.

Yet, he still remains hungry.

National team mentor Reyland Capellan stressed that there’s still a lot in the pipeline for the 17-year-old prodigy as they aim to turn him into an Olympic powerhouse, similar to what his older brother — Carlos — achieved in Paris last year.

Yulo made a lot of heads turn as he secured bronze medals in the floor exercise and horizontal bar events against a star-studded field that featured some of the world’s best young gymnasts at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City last Monday.

Making his feat extra special was the fact that he achieved it with an injured ankle while his friends and family, led by Carlos and parents Angelica and Andrew, were wildly cheering for him from the sidelines, celebrating every successful landing that boosts his confidence.

Capellan, who also handled Carlos in his early years, said Yulo is just starting to come out of his shell as he returns to Japan on Wednesday to resume his training.

“We have targets to hit so that when Eldrew goes up to the senior level, he will be able to complete the skills we’re working on. We are just following the game plan of Coach Mune (Munehiro Kugimiya),” Capellan said, adding that Yulo will be very busy punching a ticket to the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands next year.

“He will be joining the FIG World Cups next year, which are the qualifiers for the World Championships.”

Indeed, Yulo had proven that he has what it takes to follow the footsteps of his older brother.

Sideliners believe that if not for the ankle that he injured during the final round of the individual all-around, the results could have been different and Yulo might have clinched the gold medals in a world-class event right before the very eyes of sports-loving Filipinos.

For him, everything seems like a dream.

“It’s like a dream and I like Coach Reyland to slap me (back to reality),” said the young star with a huge appetite for success. “All of my hard work had paid off. Even if they are just bronze medals, these are huge wins for my career.”

But if emerging victorious is one thing, conquering glory with his brother serving as his teammate and biggest cheerleader is another.

Yulo said he is turning to Carlos for motivation, believing that he can also do it despite the tremendous odds stacked against them. In fact, when the medals were awarded, Yulo wasted no time to share his joy to Carlos, essaying a heartwarming moment about two gymnasts who defied poverty while brushing off what critics perceived as sibling rivalry just to step on the podium of a world-class tournament.

“I won two bronze medals, Kuya,” Yulo shouted as he saw his older sibling approach him once he was out of the mixed zone. “Next time, we’ll do it together.”

Yulo admitted that he draws motivation from his older brother.

“My older brother serves as my motivation to keep pushing my limits. The routines in the senior level are different so I need to keep up with them to have a better routine or if I want to win,” Yulo added.

“We have different styles and we have different paths of life.”

Greeting Yulo on his path to greatness in the senior level are some of the heavyweights of international gymnastics like world champions Artem Dolgopyat of Israel, Artur Davtyan of Armenia, Jake Jarman of Great Britain and Shinnosuke Oka of Japan.

Yet, Carlos sees his little brother thriving in the future as long as he sticks with his work ethic.

“He will be more confident in the future. He knows that the next time he will compete, he will be more motivated and confident,” Carlos said.

“Drew is a hardworking kid and I know he has big dreams. I just hope he will be safe and enjoy his journey.”