No foreign coach for Yulo

MANILA, Philippines — Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion said yesterday two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo will stick with long-time local coach Aldrin Castaneda in preparing for competitions leading to the 2028 Los Angeles Games where his goal is to bag golds in all-around and at least three more events

“It’s interesting that Mr. (Morinari) Watanabe thinks Carlos doesn’t need much coaching anymore because with his experience, he already knows what to do to excel,” said Carrion, referring to the International Federation of Gymnastics president who was recently in town as Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya’s guest during a reception for Yulo at the Embassy residence. “Mr. Watanabe suggests Carlos to go to camps, like two weeks in Japan, two weeks in China, two weeks in London, two weeks in Korea, two weeks in Australia. He’ll learn more from camps, particularly small details that could make a difference like what judges look for, for example, how many inches your head has to be above the floor with your arms and legs up when doing the floor exercise and what are the deductibles when landing.”

Carrion, however, said the door is open for foreign coaches to visit and share their expertise. “The Russian Ambassador (Marat Pavlov) was at our training center a few days ago and watched Carlos’ brother Eldrew practice,” she said. “Mr. Pavlov was impressed. Eldrew did the twists and turns that Carlos does and stuck to the floor when landing. Eldrew’s coach is Reyland Capellan. We’re hoping Eldrew will be on our team for the LA Olympics. Mr. Pavlov told me Russian coaches would love to come to the Philippines and help our athletes.”

Yulo is set to leave for a vacation in Australia on Oct. 8 then will take a trip to Tokyo on Oct. 14-18 and call on the Teikyo University president to thank him for his support. “When Carlos comes back from Tokyo, he’ll resume training,” she said. “There are World Cups scheduled next year, in Cottbus, Baku so we’ll determine which he’ll compete in. The World Championships will be in Jakarta in October and the SEA Games in Bangkok in December.” Carrion said Yulo is aiming to compete in his third Olympics in LA. “The all-around gold is his dream,” she said. “That’s the toughest because you do all six apparatus. In Paris, he was No. 12. He also wants to do back-to-back golds in floor and vault plus add a gold in parallel bars.”