MANILA, Philippines – Gymnastics chief Cynthia Carrion is sticking to positives even as Carlos Yulo goes home empty-handed from the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

Yulo failed to win a medal in the global gymnastics showdown for the first time after winning at least one in each of the last four editions, including world titles in floor exercise and vault.

Still, Yulo hit his target of securing his place in the Paris Olympics – the main reason why he skipped the Philippines’ campaign in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

“The most important thing that happened in [the] Antwerp championship is that Carlos qualified for Olympics,” said Carrion, the president of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines.

Yulo reached the finals in four of the seven individual events last year in Liverpool, United Kingdom, bagging silver in vault and bronze in parallel bars.

In this edition, though, Yulo made only the floor exercise final after a woeful all-around qualification that saw him land flat on his back twice, first in still rings and second in his pet event vault.

Posting the third-best mark in the floor exercise qualification, Yulo fell short of a medal after finishing fourth in the final behind Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat, Japan’s Kazuki Minami, and Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi.

But a silver lining for Carrion is that Yulo ended his campaign healthy despite his scary falls.

“No need to injure himself and just work for the 2024 Olympics as he already had back pain due to his fall and foot pains,” said Carrion.

In Paris, Yulo will represent the Philippines together with fellow gymnast Aleah Finnegan, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, and boxer Eumir Marcial. – Rappler.com