NAGOYA, Japan — Carlos Edriel Yulo, the Philippines’ first Olympic gymnastics champion, added Asian Games gold to his trophy cabinet on Thursday in a triumph made in Japan.
The 4-foot-11 inch (1.5m) Mr. Yulo trained in Japan under a scholarship from the local Olympic committee and delivered in front of the Nagoya crowd with a technical and precise routine to claim the floor exercise gold.
With his brother Karl competing in the same final, Mr. Yulo scored 14.666, edging out Kazakh Milad Karimi (14.600) in a cliffhanger.
Shoma Tsukiyama took bronze for Japan with a score of 14.566. Only a tenth of a point split the medallists.
Mr. Yulo became the first Filipino to win multiple Olympic gold medals when he claimed the floor and vault titles at the Paris Games.
Having missed out on the 2018 Asian Games podium, his only previous appearance at the multi-sport event, the 26-year-old said he was glad to have a full set of world, Olympic and continental titles.
“Having this in my collection, it’s all complete now,” he told reporters.
“We can just relax and really hope for the best tomorrow.”
Mr. Yulo will bid for a second Asian Games gold in the vault at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium on Friday. — Reuters