GOLDEN boy Carlos Yulo declared himself ready for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games despite the recent ankle sprain he suffered in training.
Although not yet 100 percent fully recovered, the bemedalled Filipino gymnast is still focused on winning the gold medals in the parallel bars, horizontal bar, all-around, and team.
Yulo, 23, won five gold medals in the Hanoi edition of the biennial showpiece last year through the individual all-around, floor, rings, vault, and horizontal, while settling for the silver in the parallel bars and team all around.
“Namamaga pa rin yung paa ko ng slight pero naki-kick ko na siya at nakakapag-landing na ako ng maayos,” said Yulo after the evaluation and presentation of the men’s artistic gymnastics team bound for the Cambodia SEA Games.
“Yung sa skills ko lang especially sa floor, yung first pass ko hindi ko siya magagawa sa SEA Games. Mas bababa yung difficulty ko kasi parang two-and-a-half weeks ko nang hindi nagagawa yung floor dahil sa injury.”
The ankle sprain suffered by Yulo forced him to skip the Cairo leg of the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup last week.
The Filipino Olympian said he’s feeling a lot better now, grading his fitness as somewhere between 85 to 90 percent.
“Yung landing ok na, yung kick ang natatakot pa, medyo alanganin pa siya para sa akin,” Yulo admitted. “Pero ngayon (team evaluation) 100 percent yung binigay ko and hindi naman siya sumakit, so ready na siguro.”
The former world champion likewise doesn’t mind that he won’t be able to replicate the five gold medals he won in Hanoi last year.
“Competition pa rin yun, gusto ko ipakita pa rin ang gymnastics ko sa buong mundo,” said Yulo. “Kahit hindi ko makuha ang lahat, wala namang problema sa akin yun.”
Joining Yulo in the six-man artistic team are Ivan Cruz (floor), Ace De Leon (rings), Juancho Miguel Besana (vault), and Jhon Santillan and Jan Timbang (pommel horse).
The team began its training camp last week at the Gymnastics Training Center inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
Yulo said the training environment would help the team acclimatize with the possible same condition in Cambodia especially in terms of the weather.
"Magandang preparation para sa akin yun papuntang Cambodia. Ang daming struggles, pero ang dami ring learnings na natutunan." he added.
Also present during the sendoff were coaches Reyland Capellan and Allen Aldrin Castaneda, along with Yulo’s Japanese mentor Munehiro Kugimiya, who also acts as consultant of the artistic team.
Kugimiya however, will not be joining the team in Cambodia.
The national team leaves for the SEA Games on Thursday as gymnastics competitions kick off on May 8.
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