Eldrew braces for Turkish action

Karl Eldrew Yulo will be competing in Antalya in Turkey starting Thursday to continue his stint in the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series.

Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion said she wants the 18-year-old Yulo to learn how to compete against more talented gymnasts in the senior division.

The younger brother of two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo is only in his second tournament in the senior level after competing in the Baku leg of the World Cup series last week in Azerbaijan.

“I am meeting him in Turkey, and I hope it will improve his exposure. He has to get used to it and he will improve as the days go by and more World Cups he joins,” Carrion told DAILY TRIBUNE in an online conversation.

“I asked Eldrew not to be intimidated and just do his best. I have been to a lot of competitions and I am worried for Eldrew as it is his just his second seniors tournament.”

Yulo showed potential in his senior debut as he entered the final of the two apparatuses in the Baku leg despite not finishing on the podium.

He finished sixth in the men’s floor exercise with 13.900 points and seventh in the horizontal bar after tallying 13.033.

Yulo is using the World Cup Series as his training ground for bigger tournaments ahead, like the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan from 19 September to 4 October and the 54th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands from 10 to 17 October.