Filipino gymnasts Carlos Yulo and Eldrew Yulo missed out on a podium finish at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2026 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Carlos Yulo Fails to Defend Vault Gold
Carlos Yulo came to The Netherlands as the defending vault champion but relinquished the title in the final with an average score of 14.158. Yulo’s tally was weighed down by his first vault score of 13.883 (5.600 difficulty, 8.033 execution), which saw him incur a 0.30-point penalty due to his uneven landing.
The reigning Asian Games vault gold medalist improved his score to 14.433 (5.200 difficulty, 9.233 execution), but his final tally was well off the top three: champion Artur Davtyan of Armenia (14.850), silver medalist Jake Jarman of Great Britain (14.650), and third-placer Sebastian Sponevik of Norway (14.366). Yulo finished seventh in an eight-man field.
Carlos Yulo Places Last in Pet Event
A day earlier, Carlos Yulo missed out on a medal in his pet event, the floor exercise, as he finished dead last in the final with a score of 13.233.
Yulo notably wobbled on his landing on one pass and fell on the mat. He was given a 5.800 for difficulty and 7.633 in execution, receiving a 0.10-point bonus but also a heavy 0.30-point penalty.
American Fred Richard won gold in the floor exercise, followed by Fil-British Jake Jarman, who took silver. Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat bagged third place.
Eldrew Yulo Gets Feet Wet
Meanwhile, Carlos Yulo’s younger brother, Eldrew, made his Artistic Gymnastics World Championships debut in the same competition, which ran from October 17 to 25. He competed in qualifications alongside his brother Carlos but did not advance to any apparatus finals or the all-around final. He finished 84th in the men’s individual all-around qualifications with 67.032 points and did not qualify for any event finals.
Not a Time to Panic
A medal-less campaign should be news for someone of Carlos Yulo’s caliber, a double Olympic gold medalist and one of today’s most decorated male gymnasts. However, it isn’t reason to panic, as the 26-year-old had earlier stated that he was “not expecting anything” in the world championships and was coming more to observe the competition and his rivals.
He did say he planned to “do my best and show up,” although his main focus, evidently, is next year’s edition of this very same competition. The reason? The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2027 in Chengdu, China, is the qualifying tournament for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which Yulo is targeting to make.
As for Eldrew, this world championships is his debut at this stage, and he is still only 18 years old. Improvements could and should be forthcoming, and he can very well follow his brother’s footsteps when all is said and done.
