November 22, 2025 | 7:06pm
MANILA, Philippines — Eldrew Yulo put up a valiant effort but ultimately fell short of the podium in his first final at the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships, finishing eighth in the individual all-around Saturday at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.
Yulo, who finished 15th in the qualifying round, showcased grace in his routines en route to a top eight finish with a total score of 78.731 points.
He scored 14.300 in the floor exercise, 13.000 in the pommel horse, 12.066 in still rings, 13.466 in vault, 12.833 in parallel bars and 13.066 in horizontal bar.
The 17-year-old, younger brother of Olympic double gold medalist Carlos, finished 3.300 points behind the gold medalist Arsenii Dukhno of Russia, who finished with 82.031.
Coming in second was Nao Ojima of Japan with 81.799, while China’s Yang Lanbin took home the bronze with 81.099.
Yulo finished second overall in the floor exercise, just behind Dukhno. He ended up ninth in pommel horse, 17th in still rings, 14th in parallel bars, 10th in horizontal bar and 14th overall in the vault exercise, where he hurt his right ankle.
Despite missing out on the podium finish, the young gymnast said he is “very happy” with his performance.
“Sobrang saya po kasi na even though hindi ako nakapasok sa top 3, I still managed to get the top eight or less than the top 10. I’m still proud of myself because I finished in the qualification 15th but now I finished at 8th,” he said.
“But next time, I will do my very best to get to the top 3 on IAA. If hindi kinaya ng powers ko, it’s okay. I still have many events there so sobrang saya ko po. Promise,” he added.
And while he hurt his ankle, Yulo said that he is still full of confidence as he goes to the final of floor exercise on Sunday.
“Sobrang taas na po ng confidence ko kasi magbababa po ako ng isang element ng 0.1 kasi I hurt myself po during my vault earlier so I think magbababa lang po ako ng 0.1. So there’s no much a difference but ayun na po,” he said.
“Maglilinis na lang po ako ng routine para ma-achieve po yung silver or gold or bronze or kahit anong pa man yan. Lilinisin ko na lang po.”
He admitted that his ankle was still hurting, but he will power through.
“Medyo nakirot pa rin po pero Filipino tayo. Kailangan nating lumaban. Di pa tapos yung laban so pipilit po natin kung ano yung makakaya natin. Pero safe lang po,” he said.
“Kayang-kaya po.”
Yulo will compete in the floor exercise on Sunday, while the vault and horizontal bars finals will be on Monday.