Gymnastics legend cites Yulo

MANILA, Philippines — Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) vice president and Olympic legend Nellie Kim has cited Caloy Yulo’s “strong spirit and character plus perfect technique” as factors that embellish his reputation as a world-class athlete. Yulo, 22, took the silver in vault and bronze in parallel bars at the recent 51st World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, England.

Kim, 65, said stability is what Yulo has to work on to land a podium finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics and “I think he improved in this direction.” She described Yulo as an “all-arounder” with proficiency in several apparatus. In the Liverpool all-around finals, Yulo was first in floor, tied for fifth in rings and tied for first in parallel bars. “In addition to the better quality of performance, he became stronger in mental toughness, more mature,” Kim added.

On what gymnastics needs for future growth to become even more relevant and progressive, Kim said better understanding of the rules by fans. “It will give them the opportunity to be able to participate in the evaluation of the exercises,” she said. “Spectators are happy when their scores are similar to the judges. I remain active in consulting, coaching and judging locally. My advice is mainly for coaches. They’re dealing with children and they should know children’s psychology, learn about their gymnasts, their family, school, hobbies and interests. My coach was like my second father who cared about everything.” Kim said registering a perfect 10 and winning five Olympic gold medals are the hallmarks of her career. She was the second female gymnast to score a perfect 10 after Nadia Comaneci and the first to do it in vault and floor. Kim, a Belarusian of Sakhalin Korean and Tatar descent, singled out her all-around gold at the 1979 World Championships as a stellar achievement.

Kim, who now lives in Minnesota, said she closely works with Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion in promoting gymnastics. “We’ve known each other for a long time and we work together for the future development of our beautiful sport,” she said. “The Philippine federation is lucky to have her as president.”