Carlos Yulo reclaims world title in vault

October 27 ------ Carlos Yulo added to his legend as he repeated as world champion in an apparatus for the first time. Yulo wrapped up his campaign in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, with a bang after striking gold in the men’s vault.

Living up to his billing as the reigning Olympic vault champion, the 25-year-old Filipino averaged 14.866 points as he edged Armenia’s Artur Davtyan to reclaim the world title he won in the apparatus in the 2021 edition in Kitakyushu, Japan. Yulo earned 15.2 points from a near-flawless piked Dragulescu that netted him a stick bonus of .1 point on his first vault then 14.533 points on his second vault, which saw him do a handspring front 2.5 twist.

The stick bonus, which is one of the additions to the International Gymnastics Federation code of points for the 2025-2028 Olympic cycle, proved the difference as Yulo nosed out Davtyan for the gold. Davtyan, who dethroned Yulo for the vault gold in 2022 in Liverpool, UK, settled for silver with 14.833 points even as he earned a stick bonus for both of his vaults, while Ukraine’s Nazar Chepurnyi bagged bronze with 14.483 points. It was the same one-two finish in the 2024 Paris Games, where Yulo also beat Davtyan for the vault crown to become the first Filipino to win multiple Olympic gold medals.

Yulo has won three world titles overall as he topped the floor exercise in 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany, as well. His world championship medal tally now stands at eight, including two silvers and three bronzes. After going home empty-handed from the last world championships in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2023, Yulo concluded this edition with two medals following his bronze finish in the floor exercise on Friday, October 14.

Source: rappler.com