CARLOS Yulo isn’t letting the label as the best bet to win the gold medal for Team Philippines in Paris get in his head. Instead, Yulo accepts that as a responsibility and a motivation to improve each day during his build-up for the Olympics.
“Naiintindihan ko naman po ‘yun at nakikita naman sa resulta,” said Yulo in an interview before he left for Team Philippines’ training camp in Metz, France. “Hindi po ako nagpapakampante.”
By virtue of being a two-time world champion and his many achievements over the years, Yulo is tipped for a medal haul in Paris, which could come as sweet redemption following a dismal showing in Tokyo where he finished at 47th in the all-around.
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Yulo finished fourth in the vault in the Tokyo Games but missing out on a finals spot in the floor exercise,where he first won the world title in 2019 in Stuttgart.
There were also missteps along the way in the Paris build-up including the 2023 world tilt where he finished dead last among 91 gymnasts in the all-around. Yulo, nevertheless qualified for the Olympics through the floor exercise where he was the best ranked gymnast who had yet to secure a place in Paris at that time.
The 24-year-old went the extra mile to be better this time. And that starts with being honest in assessing himself both in his training and even outside of gymnastics, writing down his thoughts and areas for improvement.
“Sinusulat ko kasi mabilis po ako makalimot. Doon ko nira-write down ‘yung thoughts and feelings ko para mas nakikita ko siya at naa-analyze ko sarili ko,” said Yulo.
“Palagi ako nakatingin kung ano ‘yung kailangan ko iimprove para sa araw-araw na routine at siyempre ‘yung outcome na puwedeng mangyari sa competition. Doon ako naka-focus talaga. Iniisip ko ‘yung bawat galaw ko at kung saan ako puwedeng magkamali, doon ako nagbibigay ng pansin,” said Yulo.
This mindset seems to be working.
In the lead-up to the Olympics, Yulo collected four gold medals in the Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan including the floor exercise, vault, and parallel bars, events that can be potential medals sources at the Olympics.
With all the improvements that he has made, the final weeks of training were focused on strengthening and cleaning up his routines.
“Nagpapalakas na lang ako sa stamina at dagdag power. Sa skills, ‘yun na po ‘yun. More on magandang execution na lang, polishing, magandang landing ang ine-aim ko. Sagad na rin ako at wala ng time para mag-additional kasi isang skill lang, malaking effect na ‘yun sa anim na apparatus. More on repetition, consistency, and power ang tine-training ko,” said Yulo.
The Filipino star gymnast begins his Olympic campaign on Saturday at the Bercy Arena with the men's qualification where he aims for a Top 24 in the individual all-around and Top 8 in the apparatuses to remain in the hunt for medals.
With his fresh mindset, Yulo hopes his efforts would lead to the only medal that is missing in his resume.
“’Yung failure po talaga ‘yung best lesson para sa akin at nagiging basehan ko kung paano ako mag-perform next,” said Yulo.
"Challenging pero nasa sports po tayo, atleta tayo, kailangan nating tanggapin lahat ng pupuwedeng matutunang lessons sa mga previous mistakes. Nago-grow tayo. Hindi tayo mago-grow kung hindi tayo nagkakamali."
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