PARIS Olympian Aleah Finnegan missed the grade in the women’s all-around on Wednesday leaving Carlos Yulo the last man standing for the Philippines in the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta.
Finnegan was No. 22 entering the all-around final but dropped to 33rd overall with a score of 49.299 points to miss the top 24 cut for Thursday’s gold medal round.
Yulo, 25, is now bracing for a heavy final schedule in Friday’s men’s floor exercise, where he placed second overall in qualification, and Saturday’s vault, which he topped the qualification.
Worlds first-timer Juancho Miguel Besana finished 39th in the men’s individual all-around qualification round where also only the top 24 athletes will make it to the final.
Ivan Cruz wound up 66th overall in vault with 12.00, while Justine Ace de Leon landed on 45th in the rings-only the top eight per apparatus will qualify for the final.
Haylee Garcia, 16, finished 44th in the women’s individual all-around event with 45.098, Emma Malabuyo took the 24th spot in floor exercise (12.300) and 26th in balance beam (12.00) and Yulo’s younger sister Elaiza was 79th in uneven bars and 32nd in vault with 11.40.
Yulo’s under the tutelage of Australian Nedal Alyousef and Filipino Aldrin Casteñeda and both coaches believe he’ll duplicate the two gold medals in the same events he won in Paris last year.
‘I saw both Carlos Yulo and Jake Jarman in Paris and I believe our athlete has the cleaner routine,’ Alyousef said in a message relayed by Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion-Norton.