CARLOS Edriel Yulo was the smallest competitor but he stood tallest to deliver just the second gold for the Philippines in its 100-year participation in the Olympics.
The 24-year-old Yulo delivered what the country expected of him after a near-flawless routine in his pet event, floor exercise, at the Bercy Arena of the Paris Olympics late Saturday (Manila time).
He crashed out in the final three years ago in Tokyo but finally hit perfection to win it all.
“A final of the very highest quality,” the international gymnastics federation said.
The wunderkind performed third in order and scored exactly 15 points, enough to edge Israeli Artem Dolgopyat, the 2021 Tokyo champion who came right before him.
Dolgopyat tallied 14.966 points for silver while Great Britain’s Jake Jarman, whose mother hails from Cebu province, captured the bronze with 14.933 points.
On Sunday night, he will go for a second medal in the vault finals.
