JAKARTA - Paris Olympics double gold medalist Carlos Yulo scored 14.533 points and settlied for the bronze medal in the men's floor exercise finals of the 53rd FIG Artistics Gymnastics World Championships on Friday.
Yulo, who ruled the event in the 2023 Paris Summer Games and in the 2019 edition held in Stuttgart, Germany, looked a bit rusty after a four-day break since taking second in the qualifiers over the weekend with a slightly better score of 14.566.
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He was able to salvage the bronze behind the 1-2 finish of two Britons, bannered by Paris Olympic bronze medalist Jake Jarman, who bagged his second world gold medal with a top score of 14.866 points while compatriot Luke Whitehouse took the silver medal (14.666).
"I have no regrets, I did my best and gave my all but Jarvis and Luke just happened to be better today. I am grateful that I reached two apparatus and that is a big plus for me," Yulo said.
"There is still the vault finals and I aim to do better than today," added the gymnasts, who won the event in the 2021 world edtion in Kitakyushu, Japan just months after the Tokyo Olympics.
Competing in his seventh straight world competition since making his debut In Doha, Qatar in 2018, Yulo still has a chance to bring home the bacon on Saturday in the vault finals at the close of the meet.
He is considered the prohibitive favorite in the event after topping the qualifiers with 14.750 points.
In a demanding discipline where minute increments can spell the difference between victory and defeat, the pint-sized Pinoy gymnast was penalized .333 points, which was the winning margin of Jarman over Yulo.
Backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Yulo, 25, was the second athlete on the mat, seemingly lacking the same dynamic and explosive energy he showcased in the Paris Summer Games where he reigned supreme with an output of 15.000 points.
"Between Carlos and me, it is like a friendly rivalry since we face each other often on the world stage. But this gold is quite special since I fancy myself to be a floor exercise guy and winning this is a validation of that," Jarman, a vault champion in the previous meet held in Antwerp, Belgium in 2023, said.
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