Carlos Yulo wins gold medal in parallel bars in Baku World Cup

PHILIPPINES’ Carlos Edrien Yulo won a gold medal in the parallel bars in FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup AGF Trophy in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Yulo took the parallel bars title with a score of 15.400, beating Kovtun Illia of Ukraine (15.366) and Bernard Cameron-Lie of France (14.600) in the third stop of the World Cup series. Yulo has now won two gold medals in the series after ruling the floor exercise in Doha, Qatar.

The Filipino gymnast has also bagged one silver and two bronzes in the series. The 22-year-old Yulo placed second in the qualifiers with a score of 15.333 to make up for his 21st-place finish in the floor exercise qualification. As of posting time, Yulo will still be competing in the rings final.

Yulo topped the apparatus, his second gold medal in the ongoing four-leg World Cup, after failing to book a finals spot in the floor exercise.

The former world champion got 15.400 from the judges in nipping Ukraine’s Illia Kovtun, who settled for the silver with 15.366 points. Cameron-Lie Bernard of France placed third with a total of 14.600 while Curran Phillips, the pace-setter in the qualifying round, managed only fifth (14.500).

Kovtun, who was aiming for a seventh consecutive World Cup title, scored 6.6 in terms of difficulty compared to Yulo’s 6.5 points, but the Filipino gymnastics star’s flawless execution netted him a finals-high 8.900.

Yulo missed out on a podium finish in the rings, where he’s the reigning champion in the Southeast Asian Games. He wound up seventh in the apparatus after tallying 14.166 in the qualifying.

Yulo, who snatched the floor exercise gold in the second leg held in Doha, Qatar, will see action in the vault final on Sunday, an event he ruled in the world championships two years ago.

After the Azerbaijan meet, Yulo’s next and final stop is the fourth leg of the World Cup in Cairo on April 27-30.