MANILA, Philippines — Caloy Yulo and his team believe the Filipino gymnast is on track for a golden showing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics despite a so-so performance in the recent 2020 All-Japan Senior Championships.
Yulo faltered in his pet floor exercise but salvaged a bronze in vault in his first tournament since winning a pair of mints and five silvers in last December’s SEA Games.
The 20-year-old Yulo finished tied for third with three-time world champion Kenzo Shirai with a 14.733 out of more than 100 participants. Each were awarded a bronze. Japanese Wataru Tanagawa and Kaesuke Asato topped the event with 14.900 to share the gold.
In the floor exercise where he won the world title in Stuttgart, Germany last year, Yulo wound up in a three-way tie for 19th spot alongside Japan’s Tatsuki Tanaka and Kentaro Yunoki with a 13.966.
The pocket-sized wonder ended up 12th in the individual all-around with an 83.398.
“There will be another all-around competition that Caloy will join on Dec. 13, and hopefully he will do much better,” said gymnastics chief Cynthia Carrion.
Yulo is one of the four Filipinos who have secured berths to Tokyo with the others being pole-vaulter EJ Obiena and boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno.