TOKYO – Carlos Yulo’s best shot at a Tokyo Olympics gold medal slipped away on Saturday when he struggled in his floor exercise routine in the artistic gymnastics qualification phase at the Ariake Gymnasium.
The stocky Manila-born gymnast had missed landings in his routine early and never really got his bearings in the same discipline where he won the gold medal at the world championships just two years ago.
The 21-year-old stood in 44th place in a field of 64 with a 13.566 score – well outside the Top 8 that would make it to the finals in the apparatus.
"Ewan ko po ano nangyari," Yulo told Filipino mediamen as he walked out of the floor, visibly shaken but still smiling before reporters.
"Preparado naman po ako. At hindi naman ako kinakabahan. Medyo [ninenerbiyos] lang, doon sa una kong event. Pero tama lang."
Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat led the field with a 15.2.
Yulo, though, qualified for the vault finals after finishing sixth with a 14.712 score, although the Filipino hope himself admitted he would be a longshot in the finals.
The Pinoy gymnast finished 63rd in the horizontal bar with a score 12.300, 55th in the horizontal bars (13.466), 24th in the rings (14.00) and 69th (11.833) in the pommel horse.
As a result, he never came close to reaching the all-around finals, finishing 47th in a field of 62 starters with a 79.931 total.
What happened out there?
"Caloy" was a trending topic on Twitter overnight as fans cheered Yulo on despite his loss. He said he did his best.
"Hindi ko rin po alam," Yulo told Filipino reporters on his way out of the stadium.
"Ginawa ko naman po ang lahat. Ganon po siguro talaga."
"Masakit. Masakit po s'ya. Masakit po talaga," said Yulo, his voice starting to crack.
Yulo 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.
"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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