MANILA, Philippines – By now, Eldrew Yulo has gotten used to the comparisons.
But the 16-year-old gymnast no longer minds, turning it into his favor instead when fans pit him against his older brother Carlos Yulo, the Philippines’ only double Olympic gold medalist.
“I look at him as motivation to achieve what I want to achieve…gusto ko po matalo si kuya (I want to beat out my big brother), but I do not want to be his rival,” Yulo said in a mix of English and Filipino at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday, July 15.
“My goal is to achieve what he has achieved, and I use that as motivation to do something that I am expected to do,” he added.
Eldrew said it helps to see firsthand what the yardstick in the sport should be.
“I will do my very best to achieve my goals, the best outcome,” he said.
The younger Yulo is set to compete in the 2025 FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships that will be hosted by the Philippines from November 20 to 24 at the Marriot Hotel in Pasay City.
Eldrew admitted that performing in front of the home crowd intimidates him, but nevertheless feels ready for the competition.
In preparation for the world event, the 2024 Junior Asian Championship gold medalist has been sharpening his skills under Munehiro Kugimiya, the former coach of Carlos.
Nicknamed Coach Mune, the Japanese mentor has been training Eldrew for the past two months in Japan.
“I can say that life [in Japan] is lonely, but we cannot do anything about it, but I find ways to entertain myself there,” Eldrew told Rappler.
“[I wake] up at 6 am, go two hours before training, eat lunch, stretch, and start training in the afternoon, eat dinner, and repeat,” he shared.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) chief Cynthia Carrion also said the local federation acquired new gymnastics equipment in line with FIG standards in preparation for the country’s hosting.
However, due to the purchase of expensive equipment, as well as other logistical needs, GAP still needs around P200 million from sponsors, on top of the P139 million earmarked by the national government, to pull off the event.
Before staging the competition, FIG officials will fly to Manila to conduct a technical inspection of the facilities.
“There’s a lot of gymnasts coming over, but so far, they have already started to come in, there’s 80 countries already, so that’s thousands of gymnasts,” said Carrion.
“It’s going to be, I think, more than 3,000 gymnasts coming, so we are expecting around 4,000 to 5,000 [delegates].” – Rappler.Com