Yulo bags first senior gold, rules World Cup floor exercise

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Inquirer.net

​Filipino gymnastics prodigy Karl Eldrew Yulo captured his first-ever senior-level gold medal by dominating the men's floor exercise at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Antalya, Turkey.

​The 18-year-old standout posted a spectacular score of 14.100 to outclass seasoned international veterans, cementing his arrival on the global gymnastics stage.

​Yulo, the younger brother of double Olympic champion Carlos Yulo, bounced back tremendously after narrowly missing the medals in Baku last week and initially finishing fourth in the qualification round in Antalya.

​"He's done it — Eldrew Yulo is a World Cup champion on Floor Exercise!" the official World Gymnastics governing body celebrated on X following his breakthrough routine.

​Performing with a high degree of difficulty set at 5.3, the young Filipino executed a nearly flawless routine that earned him an unmatched 8.800 in execution points.

​This stellar output allowed him to comfortably defeat Ireland's Eamon Montgomery, who tallied 13.833, and Spain's Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Rayderley Zapata, who settled for bronze with 13.333.

​Despite falling short of the top prize to a surging teenager, Montgomery and Zapata proved their veteran resilience by successfully securing their spots on an international podium.

​Following this monumental triumph, Yulo will now set his sights on continuing his momentum at the next leg of the FIG World Cup in Cairo, Egypt, starting on April 3.