KARL Eldrew Yulo seized the gold medal in the floor exercise event of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series Antalya leg in Turkey Saturday night.
Yulo, the younger brother of Olympic champion Carlos, racked up 14.100 points (5.300 in difficulty, 8.800 in execution) for his first gold medal in the seniors division.
The 18-year-old has competed in just two tournaments, already reaching three final rounds.
He reached the finals of floor exercise and horizontal bar in the Baku leg of the World Cup series last week in Azerbaijan.
He couldn’t make a podium finish there, but made sure to bounce back in Antalya.
“The power trio got the gold,” wrote the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) on a Facebook post, captioning a photo of Yulo, his coach Reyland Capellan, and federation chief Cynthia Carrion.
“After performing with a stellar score of 14.100, we are proud of you Eldrew!” Yulo scored 13.666 points in the qualification, which was good for fourth place.
The 4-foot-11 gymnast dazzled the crowd with his twirls and tumblings, and landed well after every set of routines.
Sitting and waiting for his scores on the screens, Yulo stood up and raised his hand after realizing he had posted the highest score.
He then sent flying kisses to the crowd. Eamon Montgomery of Ireland took the silver with 13.833 points, and Rayderley Zapata of Spain took the bronze with 13.333 points.
Yulo is expected to compete in the next leg of the World Cup series in Cairo, Egypt, from April 3 to 6.