Leap of faith

I’m very happy. I didn’t expect to win any medal. I may be smiling now, but I’m crying on the inside.

He soars Carlos Edriel Yulo gives a gravity-defying performance on the floor that won him the gold at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. AFP

Carlos Yulo marched into the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships with two ultimate objectives — First was to book a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics and, second, to win a medal so he can provide a decent shelter for his family.

The poor boy from Pasay City did more than that as he secured the country’s first-ever gold medal in the men’s floor exercise event of this prestigious tournament late Saturday at the Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart, Germany.

Yulo, 19, displayed tremendous grace under pressure as he scored 15.300 to dominate Artem Dolgopyat of Israel and Ruoteng Xiao of China, who registered 15.200 and 14.933 to settle for the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Prior to that, he punched a ticket to the Summer Games next year when he finished 18th in the qualifying round to advance to the men’s all-around finals, where he scored a total of 84.048 points for an impressive 10th place finish.

He is the second Filipino to qualify to the Tokyo Olympics after pole vault specialist EJ Obiena grabbed a slot following an impressive win in a tournament in Chiara, Italy.

Yulo said he was so focused and determined to give his all, but tempered his expectations knowing that countries like the United States, Russia, Japan and China are all eager to make a mark.

“I’m very happy. I didn’t expect to win any medal. I may be smiling now, but I’m crying on the inside,” said the 19-year-old wunderkind, who emerged as the youngest gold medal winner in the history of the World Championships.

Yulo, who trains under the watchful eyes of Japanese mentor Munehiro Kugimiya in Tokyo, said he hopes this victory would serve as an eye-opener for basketball-crazy Filipinos to take gymnastics seriously.

“There are a lot of good gymnasts in the Philippines,” said Yulo, whose tumbling passes included a full-twisting double layout, piked double front half, 3-1/2 to barani and a triple twist dismount.

He topped the difficulty with 6.500 points and execution with 8.800 points, completely sending Kugimiya to tears.

“I want Filipinos to come to our gym and try gymnastics because Filipinos love basketball even if we’re small. They should try gymnastics, instead. It’s more fun.”

But competing — and winning — in the biggest, toughest gymnastics competition in the world was a leap of faith. Yulo, in fact, wasn’t heavily recruited.

He was a mere walk-in at the gymnastics center of the Philippine Sports Commission inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, where he blossomed into a champion at seven years old.

“He saw gymnastics as his ticket out of poverty,” said Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion in reference to Yulo, who now owns an impressive collection of more than 100 gold medals from various local and international tournaments like the Palarong Pambansa, Batang Pinoy, Philippine National Games, Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games.

“He wants to do well in gymnastics because he wants to help his family. He knows by winning a medal here would lead them to a better life.”

Yulo’s father, Mark, works as a messenger while his mother, Angelica, makes both ends meet by selling cooked meals.

They live in a shanty near a creek in Leveriza Street, so the main motivation of the young athlete was to give his family a decent shelter.

“He really wants to win a medal so he can help his family build a house,” said Carrion, the former undersecretary of the Department of Tourism and a member of the executive board of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

“That’s why he was on a mission when he went here. He really wanted to win and change the fortune of his family. This gold medal is a blessing. All his sacrifices, hard work and faith in the system paid off.”

The Palace expressed singular pride in Yulo’s achievement.

“Not only has he done the sport of gymnastics in the Philippines proud, Yulo has also done his country proud by being the first Filipino to win a gold medal in the event,” Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said.

Andanar said it is truly a historic event and “we celebrate Yulo’s win with all our fellow Filipinos.”

“We expect great things from this talented young man at the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” Andanar added.

Despite winning the gold medal, which surpassed his bronze medal feat in the previous world tourney in Doha, Yulo still plans to keep on competing in preparation for the Olympics.

Aside from his intense training in Japan, he would also see action in the FIG World Cup in Doha, the FIG Individual All-Around World Cup in Birmingham and Tokyo in March and April, and the 44th Turnier der Meister FIG Individual Apparatus World Cup in Cottbus, Germany in November.

Carrion said continuous exposure in these prestigious tournaments would definitely give Yulo the confidence and the experience he badly needs in his quest for the country’s first Olympic gold medal.

“We don’t plan to slow down. We’re going to compete in all upcoming world tournaments next year,” said Carrion, who is bracing for another gold medal performance from his wards when the country hosts the 30th SEA Games in December.

“We want him to get used to the cheers inside the venue. We want him to gain the confidence of an Olympic champion.”