Carlos Yulo in coaching. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Carlos Edriel Yulo nonetheless nurses the reminiscences of his defeat within the Tokyo Olympics, however in a optimistic method these days.
“I discovered rather a lot from my expertise on the [Tokyo] Olympics,” the soft-spoken gymnast mentioned on Thursday. “I noticed that your biggest opponent is your self. If you happen to don’t give attention to what you do, you’re certain to complete final.’’
So Yulo recycles photos of the scene of competitors of the final Summer season Video games, the place he was favored to complete on the rostrum—with a gold, even—and as an alternative missed out on the ultimate of the ground train. He relives that efficiency and goes by means of each mistake there, with the goal of by no means repeating them once more.
“I attempt to right the errors that I made in my thoughts so I cannot commit them once more,’’ added Yulo.
The ploy has labored wonders. He emerged from his Tokyo fall a stronger gymnast and bagged a gold and a silver within the final gymnastics world championship, a feat that earned him a nomination as 2021’s prime male athlete within the Inquirer Sports activities Awards.
Yulo is again within the Philippines for the primary time in a protracted whereas. He’ll grace the official opening and blessing of the Gymnastics Affiliation of the Philippines (GAP) Nationwide Gymnastics Middle in Intramuros, Manila, on Saturday after which he’ll spend a while together with his household.
“Caloy actually wants to come back right here and loosen up. He’s been coaching actually laborious in Japan and he deserves to calm down even for just some days,’’ mentioned GAP president Cynthia Carrion.
And after enjoyable, it is going to be again to coaching for Yulo, who prefers making ready in solitude as he gears up for 3 main tournaments that may function a springboard for subsequent 12 months’s qualifying meets for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I actually give attention to what I do in coaching daily and make it a degree to keep away from distractions,’’ mentioned Yulo.
7 golds at stake
First on Yulo’s listing would be the thirty first Southeast Asian (SEA) Video games in Could the place the gymnast, who turned 22 final month, will take a crack at profitable the majority, if not all, of the seven gold medals at stake in males’s creative gymnastics.
“I feel I’m already 85 p.c prepared [for the SEA Games],’’ mentioned Yulo, who will return to his coaching floor in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday after spending high quality time together with his household.
Again within the 2019 SEA Video games held in Manila, the 22-year-old bundle of power struck two gold medals within the ground and all-around occasions and had 5 silvers within the pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar.
In line with Carrion, Vietnam may pose challenges for Yulo within the SEA Video games after the Vietnamese workforce confirmed a lot promise when it competed on the earth championships final 12 months in Japan.
However whereas the SEA Video games may current hurdles for Yulo, the defending world champion in males’s vault sees it as a launching pad for a tougher check within the Asian Video games (Asiad) in Hangzhou, China, in September.
“The SEA Video games is a stepping stone for the Asian Video games, which I’ve been actually making ready for this 12 months together with the approaching world championships in October,’’ mentioned Yulo, who already completed a two-year humanities course at Teikyo College in Tokyo.
In addition to looking for a prime podium end within the Asiad, Yulo has a modest aim of touchdown within the prime 5 within the particular person all-around.
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