JAKARTA - Gymnastics chief Cynthia Carrion is hoping and praying that ace athlete Carlos Edriel Yulo can duplicate his golden pair of medals from last year's Paris Olympic Games when he competes in the apparatus finals of the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, which start here on Friday.
"The results of Carlos in both the men's floor exercise and vault events during the qualifying round last Sunday were pretty encouraging, so we hope and pray he can match his golden double in the Paris Olympics," said Carrion on Wednesday at the plush Hotel Mulia just a stroll from the Indonesia Arena.
GAP president Carrion, who has nurtured Yulo since age 10, is confident he can succeed if he plays his cards right.
Born and raised in humble surroundings in Leveriza, Malate, just behind the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, the diminutive Pinoy dynamo set himself up for a golden double after placing second in the men's floor exercise and topping the vault in the qualifying round over the weekend.
Yulo, a world floor exercise champion, scored 14.566 for second, just .134 behind British leader Jake Jarman (14.700), the Olympic bronze medalist.
"If not for a slight mistake on his (Yulo's) second pass in the floor exercise, I believe he could have topped the qualifiers," Carrion noted, "but he has had time to correct that. What is important, he does better in the finals."
Australian coach Nedal Altyousef, who now mentors the athlete and is also an accomplished brevet judge, said he has seen both Yulo and Jarman in action in the French capital, "and I believe our athlete has the cleaner routine."
In the vault, Yulo led with a 14.750 average, posting 14.900 on his first attempt and 14.600 on his second. The stint is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Looming as Yulo's chief rival in the vault finals is Armenian Arthur Davtyan, who placed second to the Filipino with a tally of 14.566 in the qualifying competition and was likewise a silver medalist in the same event in the Paris Olympics.
Besides ruling both events in the Paris Summer Games, Yulo, 25, has also two medals to show in the world meet, having won his first gold in the 2019 edition in Stuttgart, Germany, with a career-best 15.300 points in the floor exercise.
Following his lackluster Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021, the "Tiny Twister" bounced back months later by bagging the gold in the vault and silver in the parallel bars in the world competition in Kitakyushu, Japan.
"We urge our countrymen and his fans back home to pray for Carlos so he can make history once again in the world championships by sweeping both of his events in the finals starting Friday," Carrion said.
Meanwhile, Aleah Finnegan, who was running 22nd with three subdivisions left, bowed out of contention in the women's individual all-around in winding up 33rd overall with a score of 49.299 points.
Only the top 24 qualifiers advance to the finals on Thursday. PR