THE Philippines’ Caloy Yulo secured his second consecutive floor exercise title in the Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Singapore.

The 2019 world champion displayed a masterclass performance, earning a dominant score of 15.300 points to retain the crown in this apparatus in the sport’s biggest continental showpiece.

Yulo executed flawless landings on all his tumbling passes, resulting in an execution score of 9.000, putting the gold medal out of reach for his competitors.

Dimitriy Patanin of Kazakhstan secured a distant second place with 14.366 points, while China’s Su Weide rounded out the podium with a score of 14.333.

Yulo’s cousin, Ivan Cruz, who won the gold medal at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, finished in eighth place with a score of 11.433 in his first-ever Asian Championships final.

On the women’s side, Aleah Finnegan achieved her first-ever Asian Championships medal, earning a bronze in the vault with an average score of 13.483.

South Korea’s Yeo Seojong took the lead with a strong start, scoring 14.317, while legendary Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina secured the silver medal with a score of 13.517.

Yulo concluded his day with a fourth-place finish on the still rings, earning a score of 14.033.

Yulo and Finnegan will aim to add more medals on the fourth and final day of the tournament, with Emma Malabuyo also vying to join the medal-winning ranks on Sunday.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado