Yulo storms world stage

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino dynamo Carlos Yulo is back where he belongs – in contention for world gold.

The 26-year-old double Olympic champion put himself in prime position to add to his growing medal collection after barging into the finals of his two pet events – floor exercise and vault – at the 54th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Sunday.

Barely a month after snaring two golds at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Yulo showed no signs of slowing down, finishing second in floor exercise qualification with a 14.500 and sixth in vault with an average of 14.266 to secure finals berths in both apparatuses.

The floor exercise final is set for Saturday, with vault to follow on Sunday.

A familiar cast of contenders awaits Yulo in the medal rounds.

In floor, he will face Russian Arsenii Dukhno, the former world junior champion who topped qualification with a 14.700, Israeli Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat (14.300) and Great Britain’s Jake Jarman (14.133). Dukhno led the field, with Yulo close behind at 14.500.

The vault final promises to be just as stacked, featuring Jarman, who posted a 14.633 average in qualifying, and long-time rival Artur Davtyan of Armenia.

A victory in Rotterdam would further burnish Yulo’s already glittering resumé. The Filipino star previously won floor exercise gold in Stuttgart in 2019 and vault golds in Kitakyushu in 2021 and in Jakarta in 2025.

It was a tougher outing in the men’s individual all-around, where Yulo placed 34th with a total of 77.631.

His younger brother, Eldrew Yulo, made his World Championships debut but struggled against a deep field. The 17-year-old finished 84th in the all-around with 67.032 and failed to advance in any apparatus.

Still, with the older Yulo back in two finals, the Philippines remains very much in the hunt.