Carlos Yulo capped his campaign in the first leg of the FIG World Cup with a bronze medal in men’s parallel bars Sunday at the Lausitz Arena in Cottbus, Germany.
Yulo scored 15.166 points for a place in the podium to make up for failing to make a dent in the men’s floor exercise, men’s vault and men’s rings finals.
Illia Kovtun of Ukraine won the gold with 15.366 points with Matteo Levantesi of Italy coming in second with 15.266 points.
This tournament is the first of the four legs that offer qualifying points for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines head Cynthia Carrion said the 23-year-old prodigy vows to come up with a better showing in the second leg in Doha from 1 to 4 March.
“Caloy said in Doha he will do much better,” Carrion said.
Yulo is also expected to compete in the third leg in Baku, Azerbaijan from 9 to 12 March and the fourth leg in Cairo from 27 to 30 April.
Meanwhile, Juancho Miguel Besana placed last in the eight-man final of the men’s vault.
He averaged 13.483 points in his first World Cup participation.
Tokyo Olympics champion Artur Davtyan of Armenia once again proved why he is the best, averaging 15.133 points for the gold medal.
Madhi Olfati came in at second place with 14.983 points for the silver medal while Wai Hung Shek copped the bronze medal with 14.733 points.
Besana is earning some much-needed exposure as he will lead the men’s artistic gymnastics team in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October.
Yulo will be skipping the Asiad as the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium also takes place from 30 September to 8 October.
A top eight place in the men’s all-around in the World Championships will earn him an automatic spot in the Summer Games next year.
