VALIANTLY fighting pain in his right ankle, Karl Eldrew Yulo scored 13.733 points to salvage the men’s floor exercise bronze medal in the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships at the Manila Marriott Grand Ballroom at the Newport World Resorts in Pasay City.

Bothered by the ankle injury he suffered the previous day, Yulo had to be extra careful about his landings, unable to come through with the flashy moves and explosiveness he is known for.

Performing second among the eight qualifiers, the gymnast was penalized .100 points on his second pass where he went slightly out of bounds, and had to anxiously wait for the others to finish to know whether he had earned a podium finish.

He was the best scorer in the event during the all-around finals last Saturday with 14.300 points in the competition organized by the Office of the President, the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

The next gymnast,  China’s Yang Langbin, surpassed his score with 13.833 points to eventually seal the gold while Italy’s Simone Speranza, who was the fourth on the floor, settled for silver with a score of 13.766 points.

In a sport where minute increments can spell the difference, Yulo, appearing in his last competition as a junior athlete, could have taken the silver without the .100 penalty.

“I really don’t know what to say because it is not just competition. Nakakaiyak sobra so siyempre nag-iistart na po yung journey ko. Marami pa pong disappointments or happiness,” said Yulo of his  great accomplishment in front of hometown fans.

“Masakit pa rin po. We still managed to compete with it. We still manage to get bronze. Because that’s us, guys, we’re still Filipino,” said the athlete, who tried to hold back the tears after his courageous effort.

While pining for gold, Gymnastics Association Philippines president Cynthia Carrion said she was satisfied with the way the gymnast performed considering that he had through pain in bagging the bronze.

“His (Yulo) foot was injured so the outcome was understandable. I had to ask his Japanese physiotherapist Junpei Kono to stay an extra day to treat it,” Carrion disclosed.

“Anyway, we still have the vault and high bar tomorrow. Let’s see how we will do,” Carrion said. “I hope and pray by tomorrow his foot will be better.”

PSC chairman Patrick Gregorio , who sat beside FIG president Morinari Watanabe while watching the athlete perform, said “I could not breathe. I was telling president Watanabe that this was Carlos Yulo 2.0 now performing in Manila.

“A great start for our young boy, Eldrew. Let’s not forget that he is still very young and he performed against the best in the world.”