Gymnastics publication tags Yulo as medal favorite in Paris Olympics

MANILA, Philippines – Carlos Edriel Yulo was predicted by an international gymnastics e-zine and a leading sports magazine to land medals at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The International Gymnast Online wrote a July 21 preview of the men’s apparatuses and predicted that Yulo will land the gold medal in the men’s floor exercises over defending Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel.

“If Carlos Yulo of the Philippines manages to be consistent, he could easily top the field on floor,” staff of International Gymnast Online wrote.

As for the men’s vault, which IGO thinks is “the most competitive event in Paris,” Yulo is predicted to land a silver medal. Artur Davtyan of Armenia, remarked by IGO for his “consistency,” is predicted to win gold.

Yulo, Adem Asil of Turkey and Wataru Tanigawa of Japan can land what a routine called the “Ri II” (named after North Korean Ri Se Gwang). Ri II is a front handspring front double-piked somersault with a half twist. The Filipino, the Turk and the Japanese can land the medal podium “with a strong landing on this vault” upon performing the Ri II, IGO wrote.

[In gymnastics, a never-done-before routine is named after the gymnast who performed such at a major tournament sanctioned by the International Gymnastics Federation.] 

But Sports Illustrated predicted differently. For the men’s floor exercise, SI predicted Yulo to land a silver behind Dolgopyat while the Filipino was not predicted to land a medal in the vault (with reigning world champion vaulter Jake Jarman of Great Britain pitted to win gold).

Sports Illustrated also predicted another Filipino, Ernest John Obiena of athletics, to win a bronze medal in the men’s pole vault. Sweden’s Armand Duplantis and the United States’ Chris Nilsen are tipped to win gold and silver, respectively, in the pole vault.

Sports Illustrated did not predict any Filipino boxer to land in the medals podium amid the return of 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio, plus bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial.

The Philippines will be sending 22 athletes in Paris to compete in gymnastics (4), boxing (5), weightlifting (3), rowing (1), fencing (1), golf (2), athletics (3), swimming (2) and judo (1).