The national men’s gymnastics squad will not compete in the FIG Apparatus World Cup due to several international events this year.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) secretary general Rowena Bautista told DAILY TRIBUNE that they decided to skip the world tourney since it doesn’t offer any qualifying points for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo as well as Southeast Asian Games standouts Miguel Besana and John Ivan Cruz were supposed to see action in the World Cup in a bid to compete in the Summer Games.
But Bautista stressed that they would rather skip the event and turn their focus on the Asian Championships to avoid risking any injuries.
“We will not join because the World Cup this year will not earn points for the L.A. Olympics,” said Bautista, speaking on behalf of gymnastics chief Cynthia Carrion.
“We’re preparing for the Asian Championships.”
The Filipino gymnasts have three major tournaments coming up this year.
First is the 12th Asian Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships from 5 to 8 June in Jecheon, South Korea where Yulo will be defending his men’s all-around title while aiming for a third consecutive gold medal in floor exercise and vault.
Then, there is the 2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta from 19 to 25 October as the two-time Paris Olympics gold medalist looks to make it to the podium after falling short last year in Antwerp.
Capping off his season is the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games from 9 to 20 December in Thailand.
Carrion said she wants Yulo to limit the apparatus he will join in the biennial meet to give other gymnasts a chance to hone themselves.
Cruz is the current champion in the SEA Games floor exercise while Besana is the defending vault gold medalist.
“I want the others to win, so maybe they can go there as a team, but he will only compete in one or two apparatus, not all,” Carrion said.