KARL Eldrew came tantalizingly close to a silver medal but wound up with a bronze instead in the horizontal bar, capping a memorable campaign in the 3rd Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships at the Marriott Manila Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.

Playing hurt with an ankle injury, Yulo looked set to come up second with a strong and clean performance in his last event, scoring 14.000 points, which included a .10 bonus for a picture-perfect landing.

With two entries left, the packed arena hometown fans roared when seeing the gymnast’s score on the huge screen in the meet backed by the Office of the President, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

But saving the best for last, Colombian Camilo Vera, the final performer, spoiled it all with an outstanding display on the apparatus, earning the nod of the judges, who gave him 14.533 points to win the gold.

American Danila Leykin, who was the first athlete to perform, took the silver with a 14.233 score in the elite meet for junior gymnasts worldwide organized by the Gymnastics of the Philippines and also backed by Smart/PLDT and Cignal as the official broadcaster.

The enormity of what he achieved was not lost on him, pointing out that he also had a bronze in the floor exercise and saw action in the finals of the vault and individual all-around.

“Parang nanaginip pa rin ako, gusto ko mag-sampal ko ka coach Reyland (Capellan) nagbunga lahat ng pinaghirapan ko, maski bronze lang, malaking bagay po ito  sa akin,” noted Yulo of his first and final world junior meet before going up the senior ranks.

For a fleeting moment, there was a faint hope that like the previous day, Yulo, competing as the seventh vaulter,  would bag a bronze after posting an average of 13.716 for the two vaults.

But that was dashed by Individual Neutral Athlete Arsenii Dukhno, who was up next and, banking on a sterling second vault, wrested the lead and the gold for good with a two-vault average of 14.333 points.

Britons Sol Scott and Evan McPhilipps, who were running 1-2 before Dukhno took to the vault with marks of 14.066 and 13.950, respectively, were demoted to silver and bronze to ease out the hometown bet from the podium position.

With a lump in his throat, younger Yulo was moved that even his famous brother, Paris Olympic double gold medalist Carlos Edriel Yulo, was around to witness him play, embracing him outside of the arena warmly once his stint was over.

“Nakadalawang bronze ako kuya!” he shouted as he saw his older sibling approach him once he was out of the mixed zone. “Sa susunod naman tayo naman ang magkasama.”

In a separate press conference, his parents, Mark and Angelica, expressed their gratitude to Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya, who was content to watch from the sidelines, for accepting their younger son to train with him.

“Nagpapasalamat ako at tinanggap niya ang anak kong si Eldrew, pinatiyagaan ninyo siya kaya kami nagpapasalamat,” Yulo’s mother said.

“Hopefully magkita-kita kami ang aming anak sa 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” said the athlete’s father. “Tuloy-tuloy na ito.”