AFTER two years of training in Japan, two-time world gymnastics champion Carlos “Caloy” Yulo is coming back home to his family for a much deserved vacation.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) president Cynthia Carrion on Thursday said Mr. Yulo is flying in on Tuesday for a long-delayed breather as well as to grace the inauguration of Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation (MVPSF) Gymnastics Center on March 5 in Intramuros, Manila.
Apart from the Olympian gymnast, Ms. Carrion said no less than International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) president Morinari Watanabe is attending the blessing of the new training center that would be used by the national team seeing action in the Hanoi Asian Games slated for May 12 to 23 and the Hangzhou Asian Games set on Sept. 10 to 25.
“Caloy (Yulo) will be in the inauguration,” said Ms. Carrion.
Mr. Yulo was supposed to have his homecoming in December last year, but was forced to postpone it due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
It was a well-deserved return for Mr. Yulo, who has been training in Japan since snaring two gold medals and five silvers in the 2019 Manila SEA Games.
While he missed a medal in the Tokyo Olympics last year, Mr. Yulo has won his second World Championships vault mint in Kitakyushu, Japan months later. He also snatched a silver in the parallel bars there.
Mr. Yulo first emerged world champion in floor exercise in 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany. — Joey Villar