CARLOS “CALOY” YULO vies in the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Apparatus World Cup starting on Friday in Germany—the first of several eye-of-the-needle type of competitions that could give the two-time world champion another shot at an Olympic gold medal in Paris next year.
The 23-year-old Yulo has fellow Philippine teammate Juancho Miguel Besana to keep him company in the Cottbus competition, but they’ll have to vie against at least 200 other gymnasts from 60 countries who share the same goal of making it to Paris.
The tournament also is only the first step for gymnasts to qualify not for the Paris Olympics, but for the world championships—an Olympic qualifier set September 30 to October 8 in Antwerp, Belgium.
FIG ranking are offered in Cottbus first lef, as well as in the Doha (Qatar) second leg from March 1 to 4, Baku (Azerbaijan) third leg from March 9 to 12 and Cairo (Egypt) fourth leg from April 27 to 30.
The points topnotchers will advance to the Antwerp worlds, where eight slots are offered for the Paris Games.
The tough field includes Israeli Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat, Armenian star Artur Davtyan, Japanese aces Ashikawa Urara, Kaya Kazuma, and eight-time Olympian Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) president Cynthia Carrion-Norton reported from Cottbus that Yulo and Besana are in their elements for the competitions set at the temperature-controlled Lausitz Arena.
She said temperatures are in the below 10 degrees Celsius.
Yulo, 23, will be competing in floor exercise, vault, parallel bars and rings while Besana will vie in the floor exercise, vault and parallel bars.