Carlos Yulo made history Thursday by winning the Philippines’ first Asian Games gold medal in artistic gymnastics, ruling the men’s floor exercise final at Nagoya City General Gymnasium.
The two-time Olympic champion posted a 14.666 to edge Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi, who scored 14.600, and Japan’s Shoma Tsukiyama, who took bronze with 14.566.
Yulo combined a 5.7 difficulty score with an 8.966 execution score, the highest execution mark in the final, to win by just 0.066 point over Karimi.
The 26-year-old Yulo also overcame a scoring disadvantage, with Karimi and Tsukiyama each receiving a 0.1 bonus in their final scores.
The victory gave Yulo his first Asian Games medal and his first continental title at the multisport event after previous setbacks at the Tokyo Olympics and the Jakarta Asian Games.
“This felt like the Olympics. It’s my first time winning a medal at the Asian Games, and this is also my second time competing here. I messed up during the Tokyo Olympics. I messed up at the Jakarta Asian Games. Now, I was able to redeem myself here,” Yulo said.
Yulo entered the final as the top qualifier after scoring 14.600 in the preliminary round. He also led the Philippines in the men’s team final Wednesday with a 14.266 on floor as the country finished sixth.
The gold adds to Yulo’s two Olympic titles in floor exercise and vault at the 2024 Paris Games and his floor exercise title at the 2026 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Carlos Yulo’s gold lifted the Philippines’ medal haul to six — one gold, one silver and four bronze.
He is also set to compete in the vault and parallel bars finals on Sept. 25, while Karl Eldrew Yulo will see action in the high bar final. Miguel Besana will join Carlos in the vault final.
Under Republic Act No. 10699, or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Yulo is entitled to a ₱2-million incentive for winning an Asian Games gold meda
