TOKYO - Caloy Yulo walked briskly past a group of reporters at the Ariake Gymnasium, hoping perhaps not to get noticed after a poor performance in the gymnastics qualifiers on Saturday night.
But the reigning world champion in the floor exercise soon learned that that was impossible. He was stopped on his tracks by one Caucasian reporter, then by another. And yet another.
All the mediamen wanted to know was one thing: what happened out there?
Caloy Yulo on floor exercise
"Hindi ko rin po alam," Yulo said when it was the turn to ask of two Filipino mediamen at the end of the long line.
"Ewan ko rin po ano nangyari," he continued. "Preparado naman po ako. At hindi naman po ako kinakabahan. Well, noong una, pero tama lang.
"Ginawa ko naman po ang lahat. Ganon po siguro talaga."
Just moments earlier, the Manila-born gymnast was regarded as the best hope for a gold medal in a compact but talent-laden group of 19 athletes sent to this quadrennial showpiece by a nation in need of cheering up amid this deadly pandemic.
Now, after a disappointing performance in the floor exercise marred by two blown landings left him well outside the top 8 that reached the finals, Yulo was just as devastated as the countrymen who cheered for him.
"Masakit. Masakit po s'ya. Masakit po talaga" said Yulo, his voice starting to crack.
Yulo, 21, spent years away from his family training here with his Japanese coaches, all the more reason he didn't expect to fall short on Saturday night.
When he did, Yulo was lost for words trying to make sense of what happened.
"Pangit po talaga (yung unang landing). Pati po yung pangalawa," he said, looking back on what went wrong on a routine that left him in 44th place in a field of 62.
"Ang hirap i-explain," he continued. "Okay naman po ang praktis ko bago ako pumunta dito. Pumunta po ako dito na preparado talaga."
In the end, as the missed shot at gold in his pet event started to sink in, Yulo found solace in knowing he had given it his best shot.
"Hindi naman po nasayang ang prinaktis ko dahil ginawa ko naman po ang lahat bago ako pumunta dito. Hindi lang po siguro para sa akin."
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