No surprise: Eldrew Yulo sustains Palarong Pambansa dominance, bags individual all-around title
MANILA, Philippines – Eldrew Yulo dominating the Palarong Pambansa has become a regular thing.
This edition proved no different as Yulo blew out the competition and claimed the individual all-around gold in secondary boys’ artistic gymnastics with 46.25 points at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday, August 2.
Even the younger brother of world champion gymnast Carlos was hardly surprised as he nailed his fourth individual all-around crown in the Palarong Pambansa and his first in the secondary level.
“I’m happy. Of course, I already expected this,” said Yulo in Filipino.
The 15-year-old emerged as the only gymnast to breach the 45-point plateau as he sparkled in his pet events floor exercise and vault.
He posted 14.5 points following a near-flawless floor exercise routine and netted 13.25 points for his crisp vault performance then garnered 9.4 points in mushroom and 9.1 points in horizontal bar.
Although the clear-cut title favorite, Yulo admitted he still has to manage heavy expectations.
“There is still pressure because a lot of people expect me to win gold without stumbling or making mistakes,” Yulo said.
But Yulo was simply head and shoulders above the competition as he powered a podium sweep for National Capital Region.
His NCR teammates King Cjay Pernia (41.7 points) and Hillarion Palles (39.85 points) bagged silver and bronze, respectively.
The trio also conspired for the all-around team crown as Yulo raised his Palarong Pambansa gold tally to a staggering 16 mints.
Yulo won five golds in Antique in 2017, four in Vigan in 2018, and another five in Davao City in 2019 before the pandemic shelved the Palarong Pambansa for four years.
He can finish this edition with a sweep of all six golds as he competes in the four apparatus finals on Friday, August 4, at the same venue. – Rappler.com