It looks like there will be a Yulo competing in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand from 9 to 20 December.
Elaiza Yulo will be making her SEA Games debut, Gymnastics Association of the Philippines secretary general Rowena Bautista told DAILY TRIBUNE on Saturday.
Unlike in the men’s division, where the age requirement is 18, female gymnasts can join at 16 years old.
Elaiza also made her senior debut last October in the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta at 16 years old where she joined forces with Haylee Garcia and Paris Olympians Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo.
“We’re excited for Elaiza. Her biggest competition was last month in the World Championships in Jakarta,” Baustista said.
“In Jakarta, she wasn’t given her pet event so we’re hoping that she’ll be able to deliver because her pet event is beam and floor exercise.”
The youngest sibling in her family, Yulo, will be joining forces with Garcia and Finnegan in Bangkok as they look to surpass the previous medal tally of two golds and two silver medals in the Hanoi SEA Games in 2022.
With the Thais limiting gymnasts to only one final per national Olympic committee (NOC), Bautista said Yulo will only be limited to one apparatus in the final should Finnegan or Garcia finish higher than her in the same apparatus.
“For qualifications, each gymnast would perform 3 apparatus but for the finals, each gymnast is limited to 2 apparatus but only 1 per NOC,” Bautista said.
Yulo will not only be representing the country but she is also carrying the expectations set by her older brothers.
Her older brother Carlos Yulo has nine SEA Games gold medals to his name on top of having three World titles and two Olympic mints.
Meanwhile, Karl Eldrew Yulo won a gold medal in the boys’ vault in the Asian Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent last year.