Carlos Yulo will take it easy and stay in the country before flying to Metz to prepare for the Paris Olympics.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion said instead of engaging in a rigorous workout, the 24-year-old Yulo will train in the country before leaving for the French town of Metz for the final stage of his buildup for the Summer Games set to open on 27 July.
The past few months have been grueling for Yulo.
In fact, he competed in two legs of the FIG World Cup series from March to April
— a tourney that brought him to Baku and Doha.
He also campaigned in the 2024 AGU Asian Artistic Gymnastics Men’s Championships over the weekend in Tashkent, where he took home four gold medals.
In Tashkent, Yulo reigned supreme in the individual all-around, floor exercise, vault, and parallel bars to underscore his readiness for the Summer Games.
Carrion said Yulo will keep on training but just in the comforts of their own gym in Intramuros, Manila.
“Just training and more training. All the time until 29th June,” said Carrion in a message to DAILY TRIBUNE on Monday morning.
“No more travel. It drains the athletes.”
The coming Olympics will be very crucial to Yulo.
In his first try in the Summer Games, Yulo fell shy of winning a medal after finishing fourth in vault before bombing out in the finals of floor exercise, horizontal bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, and rings routines.
Two years later, he parted ways with his Japanese coach, Munehiro Kugimiya, dealing a major blow to his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal.
Still, Yulo refused to quit.
With Aldrin Castaneda returning to serve as his new coach, Yulo qualified in the floor exercise event of the Paris Olympics following a superb performance in the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Now, he is being billed by no less than Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino as among the Filipino athletes who have a bright chance to emerge victorious in the biggest, most prestigious athletic conclave in the world together with the likes of EJ Obiena of athletics, and Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcial of boxing.
Aside from Yulo, also showing improvement are Southeast Asian Games gold medalist John Ivan Cruz and Juancho Miguel Besana despite falling short of winning a medal in their respective routines in the Asian championships.
Cruz finished fourth in floor exercise while Besana bombed out of the medal podium in vault.
“Yes, everyone mentioned to me how much they have improved. They are getting more confident as they compete abroad,” Carrion said, adding that a fully-charged Yulo will be a solid force to be reckoned with in the Olympics.