Eldrew Yulo bucked an ankle injury to win win a bronze medal in floor exercise at the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships.
Eldrew Yulo beamed with pride as he netted the country’s first-ever medal at the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships, winning the bronze in floor exercise at the Marriott Grand Ballroom on Sunday.
Yulo, who sustained an injury in his right ankle on Saturday, had to fight through the pain to achieve his feat, giving him a medal in his first and only foray in the Junior World Championships.
The 17-year-old performed second in the floor exercise final and had to hold on until the last gymnast to celebrate.
[RELATED: Eldrew Yulo nabs bronze medal in floor exercise at Junior World Championships]
Having to tone down his difficulty due to his injury, Yulo was a little bit off the mark compared to his qualification and all-around scores in previous days with a 13.733.
He bumped down his routine’s difficulty by 0.100, which meant he had to execute all the more better. Fortunately for the home bet, he was able to finish a relatively clean routine, save for some hops in his landings.
After the competition, Yulo expressed his disbelief in being able to achieve bronze.
“I really don’t know what to say because this is not just any competition, you know, so, nakakaiyak. Sobra,” Yulo told the media.
“Syempre, nags-start pa lang po yung journey ko and siguro dito na mags-start yung journey ko. Marami pa pong dadaanan na disappointment and happiness. Sobrang saya ko po.”
Yulo needed to wait in bated breath for the score of final gymnast Arsenii Dukhno of Russia to find out if he was in the podium or not, hanging on to the third spot for most of the competition.
When Dukhno’s score flashed – a 13.633 – emotions poured out of the younger Yulo. The Russian had stepped out of bounds during his routine, incurring a .100 deduction, which was exactly the difference between him and Yulo.
Eldrew Yulo was visibly emotional after confirming the bronze medal finish in the floor exercise final. | Photo: RM Chua / One Sports
China’s Lanbin Yang netted the gold with a 13.833, while Italy’s Simone Speranza finished with the silver with 13.766.
Taking his chances
Even if Yulo was unable to take a gold or silver in one of his pet events, there are still two more chances for the 17-year-old to take first place.
Yulo is set to compete in both the vault and horizontal bar finals on Monday, November 24, the last day of the competition.
Still nursing his injury, Yulo said that he will continue to push for the best result possible.
“Tomorrow, I still have finals — vault and high bars. So I’m still gonna fight for it,” he said.
Much like what he did in the floor exercise, there is also a possibility that he will amp down difficulty in his vaults to hopefully get better execution.
“Hindi ko pa po alam, siguro po, possible po,” he said of taking it down a notch in the vault.
“Mas bababaan ko lang po ng isang twist lang po, or isang twist lang po. Kasi masakit po talaga siya,” he added.
Yulo was the former Asian Junior champion in vault. He last won the silver in the 2025 edition of the regional tournament in vault.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.