STUTTGART -- Celebrated Filipino gymnast Carlos Edriel "Caloy" Yulo is set to return to Manila on Monday following his golden achievement in the men's floor exercise event of the 41st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Hans Schleyer Halle here.
Yulo and his coach, Munehiro Kugimiya, were earlier scheduled to fly back to Tokyo to resume training.
But they were prevailed upon by GAP president Cynthia Carrion to first return to Manila, as Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William "Butch" Ramirez was arranging for all three to pay a courtesy call to President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday in Malacanang.
"We are thrilled with the golden performance with Yulo at the world champs. President Rodrigo Duterte is happy," Ramirez said in a statement.
"Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and (former Special Assistant to the President and) Sen. Bong Go have been monitoring the competition," he added. "The Office of the President and the PSC family congratulates Caloy on this achievement. Mabuhay ang atletang Pilipino!"
Also offering his congratulations was Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino.
"His hard work and dedication paid off," said Tolentino. "His accomplishment should inspire our other athletes to do well in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in December."
Performing next to the last among eighth finalists, Yulo put on a tremendous display of grace, artistry and athleticism in securing the gold with an eye-popping score of 15.300 points.
Israel's Artem Dolgopyat had earlier tallied a seemingly untouchable score of 15.200, but was beaten by Yulo by a hairline.
Playing a major factor in the victory was the degree of difficulty of Yulo's routine -- the highest among the entries at 6.500 to Dolgopyat's 6.400 -- that proved to be the winning edge
Likewise eclipsed by Yulo's triumph was China's Xiao Ruoteng, the men's all-around silver medalist in the 2018 edition held in Doha, Qatar, who seemed a cinch for silver with his score of 14.933, only to be relegated to the bronze in the face of the Filipino's virtuoso performance.
For the first time in the 41 editions of the global gymnastics showcase, the Philippine national anthem was played in the tournament that drew the best gymnasts from 92 countries to this picturesque German city.
"I am speechless because I did not expect to win because I thought the Israeli's score was far too high," admitted Yulo. "But I wanted to show everyone what I could do so I just wanted to do my best. Talagang napakasaya ko po."
"I am happy for Caloy because all his hard work and sacrifice paid off," noted Kugimiya. "Actually he has done better in practice so I was confident about his performance."
During the post-event interview, Yulo paid tribute to Kugimiya by taking off the gold medal and draping it around the Japanese mentor's neck.
"Mas confident po ako sa landing ko ngayon kaysa duon sa all-around finals last Friday. Malaking bagay din po iyon," said Yulo. "It was God who gave me this gold because I could not have done it on my own."
The golden finish ensured that Yulo will see action in two men's artistic gymnastics events in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
He earlier qualified for the men's all-around event as early as Monday when he finished 18th in the qualifiers, and underscored that the feat was no fluke when he placed No. 10 in the finals last Friday.
"I'm a bit scared now," admitted Yulo, knowing that he would be a marked man in the event in the Tokyo Olympics.
Carrion, for her part, is hopeful that Yulo's achievement will shine a spotlight on their sport.
"Caloy's (Yulo's nickname) victory will have a huge impact on Philippine gymnastics since he have proven that we can produce world champions in the sport," she said.
"We hope that we will get more supporters for the sport now with his success."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Russia's Nikita Nagornyy clinched the men's all-around title at the gymnastics world championships on Friday ahead of last year's champion and team mate Artur Dalaloyan in Stuttgart.
Needing 12.560 points on the horizontal bar to seal victory, Nagornyy landed a 14.166 to finish with an overall score of 88.772 to beat Dalaloyan by a comfortable margin of 1.607.
The pair's podium dominance followed Russia's first-ever world title in the men's team event on Wednesday to ensure ideal preparation for next year's Tokyo Olympics.
"Unbelievably happy because this is what motivated me to go and train in the gym daily for the past year," Nagornyy, who will be bidding for his third gold of the week in Saturday's floor final, told reporters.
"Not just me but the whole team. What can I say? We were going here for this medal and we got it and we are unbelievably happy."
Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev claimed the bronze medal after producing a spectacular routine on the parallel bars for the day's top score of 15.475.
For the first time in 25 years, all three podium spots for the men's all-around world title were occupied by European gymnasts.
China's Xiao Ruoteng, who finished second in Doha last year, was among the medal contenders until the final rotation, where he lost his grip on the high bar midway through his routine before returning to wrap up a below-par effort of 12.666.
The 2017 world champion finished fourth overall, while team mate Sun Wei came fifth.
"Actually, today through my first five rotations I showed quite a high standard," Ruoteng said.
"I wanted to add difficulty to my all-around, and going to the high bar I was trailing by about 0.5 so I was weighing up adding difficulty and I decided to do so.
"To be honest, I'm closest to Nagornyy in terms of level."
Coming into Stuttgart, Nagornyy was ranked among the heavy favorites for the event after winning the European all-around title earlier this year in Szczecin.
The 22-year-old's European Championships performance had been the best score recorded this season until he bettered it by 0.107 in front of a raucous crowd in Stuttgart.
Dalaloyan conceded his title to Nagornyy after a poor landing off the vault for 14.066, which included a 0.1 penalty.
But he recovered well in the final two rotations, earning scores of 15.233 and 14.233 on the parallel bars and high bar respectively.
American's six-time national champion Sam Mikulak was the surprise leader at the halfway stage but mistakes on the pommel horse in the penultimate rotation meant he came seventh overall.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Simone Biles of the USA performs on the balance beam during women's team final at the gymnastics world championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Tuesday. Biles made history for winning her 21st world medal in women’s gymnastics after the US team won its fifth consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championships.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
STUTTGART -- World number one Naomi Osaka said Tuesday she had "dodged a bullet" after Simona Halep, her main pursuer in the WTA rankings, pulled out of this week's tournament in Stuttgart.
Japanese rising star Osaka, 21, launches her clay season in Stuttgart this week, and her hopes of holding on to her spot at the top of the rankings were given a boost when world number two Halep withdrew with a hip injury earlier Tuesday.
"She was getting really close," said Osaka, who is less than 200 points ahead of Halep in the WTA rankings. "I feel like I dodged a bullet there."
Osaka said that winning was not everything in Stuttgart, where she last played as a qualifier in 2017.
"I don't want to overhype myself and say, 'I will win the tournament'," she insisted.
"I just want to have fun and experience the German crowd, because last time I was here, I was kind of a nobody."
She is definitely no longer a 'nobody', having won back-to-back Grand Slam titles in the United States and Australia since September.
However, she admitted finding it difficult to adjust to her newfound global fame.
"It is something that happened really quickly. In the beginning it was tough for me, because I put a lot of pressure on myself," she said.
"I feel like there is certain things, I should be doing, that I am not doing right now."
Osaka has not won a title since her Australian Open triumph in January, suffering early exits at three recent WTA tournaments.
She was reluctant to speak about her split with her German coach Sascha Bajin earlier this year.
"I feel like I get in trouble for answering questions like this. There were irreconcilable differences," she said.
Osaka said she hoped to get more used to playing on clay ahead of the French Open next month.
"I feel, that on every surface of the season I do have a lot more experience than on clay."
"The bounces are different and you have to swing for the ball. For me it is a little bit difficult, because I can´t hit as flat."
Osaka is expected to play her first game on Thursday, where she faces a potential clash with Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei, who beat her in Miami last month.
- Kerber eyes Career Slam on clay -
Reigning Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber, meanwhile, has recovered from illness in time to launch her clay season on home soil as she eyes a career Grand Slam in Paris this year.
Kerber has won every major except the French Open since 2016, but she has never got past the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
"You know clay and me, you know the story," she told reporters with a smile on Monday.
"It’s a tough challenge (to win all four Grand Slam tournaments), but I will not put too much pressure on my side."
"Right now, I will focus on the tournaments ahead, and then when I'm in Paris, I will think about the Paris situation."
Kerber missed out on Germany's Fed Cup play-off win over Latvia last week after she picked up an illness earlier this month, but said on Tuesday that she had returned to full strength.
Halep's absence has given the German a little more breathing space.
Instead of playing a first-round match against Donna Vekic on Wednesday, Kerber gets a bye to the second round, where she faces a potential clash with compatriot Andrea Petkovic.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
