Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) President Cynthia Carrion expressed optimism on Eldrew Yulo getting a gold medal in the Junior World Championships.
Eldrew Yulo may have settled for bronze in floor exercise, but the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) President Cynthia Carrion remains optimistic that the country will strike gold on the last day of the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships.
After Yulo broke through for the podium finish in his pet event on Sunday, Carrion said that the team and GAP still want to go for the gold.
This was despite Yulo nursing an ankle injury, which has forced him to tone down difficulty in his routines.
[RELATED: Eldrew Yulo relishes Junior World Championships bronze medal despite minor injury]
“Happy, of course, because we have third place. But you know me, I like the color gold. But, next time, we still have the vault and we still have the high bar,” Carrion told the media at the Marriott Grand Ballroom.
Yulo performed well despite pain in his right ankle, but his finals score of 13.733 was a far cry from his performance in the floor exercise on Saturday during the men’s all-around final, where he registered 14.300.
This was partly due to the fact that he performed a routine that had a .100 difference in difficulty to not put too much pressure on his injured right ankle.
GAP themselves were well aware of this, with Carrion saying that the NSA asked a therapist to stay behind one more day in Manila to help the 17-year-old nurse the pain.
“I had to keep the therapist for one more day here, he was supposed to go to Japan already, and I told him to stay one more day to take care of his foot… It still hurts,” she said on Eldrew's ankle.
GAP is relying solely on Yulo for a strong finish for Team Philippines in the tournament.
Yulo was the only gymnast among the eight competitors for the host country who made it to a final, having qualified for four – the men’s all-around, floor exercise, vault, and high bar.
Now a bronze medalist in the junior world championship, Yulo hopes to add to his haul with the vault and high bar finals on Monday, November 24.
Yulo’s bronze medal in the floor exercise was the country’s first ever medal in the FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships.
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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.