Carlos Yulo will be aiming for no less than a gold medal when he kicks off his quest in the men’s artistic gymnastics event of the Paris Olympics at the Bercy Arena in the French capital on Saturday night (Manila time).
Yulo, 24, said he is not only aiming for gold medals at the men’s floor exercise and vault routines but is also challenging for the individual all-around mint as well.
The two-time world champion is in the start list of competitors together with Marios Georgiou of Georgia, 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships bronze medalist Samir Aït Saïd of France, Ángel Barajas of Colombia, and two-time Asian Games gold medalist Shek Wai Hung of Hong Kong in subdivision two.
“I want to win in the floor exercise, vault, also. I’m really shooting for the individual all-around, as well,” Yulo said.
“I want a good performance.”
More than the title, Yulo is seeking redemption after a failed campaign in the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021.
After that horrendous performance, Yulo went on to win a gold medal in the vault of the 2021 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan and won four gold medals in the 2023 and 2024 FIG Apparatus World Cup.
But his biggest win so far since the Tokyo Games was the elusive gold medal in the individual all-around of the Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Tashkent last May.
Getting the gold in the French capital will be easier said than done as defending individual all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto of Japan, three-time Olympic champion and Japanese gymnast Kohei Uchimura, reigning floor exercise king Artem Dolgopyat of Israel, vault world champion Jake Jarman of the United Kingdom, and eight-time FIG Apparatus World Cup vault gold medalist Artur Davtyan of Armenia will be standing in Yulo’s way of reaching glory in Paris.
Yulo said he is also seeking wisdom from fellow gymnasts on how to improve on his performance.
“I want to acquire knowledge from other athletes, like asking them, ‘How to do these skills?’ and ask coaches, ‘How do I do this? Do you have any methods or strategies you can give me?’” Yulo said.