Gymnastics: Yulo claims Philippines' first-ever gold at worlds
(Reuters) - Carlos Edriel Yulo became the first ever Filipino gymnast to win a gold medal at the world championships, edging Israel's Artem Dolgopyat in the floor exercise final in Stuttgart on Saturday.
Yulo, the youngest competitor in this year's event at 19, consistently posted controlled landings to post an impressive score of 15.300 points - 0.1 more than second-placed Dolgopyat.
Raising the degree of difficulty from 6.2 to 6.5 paid dividends for Yulo as he outperformed Dolgopyat, who came into the final as the top qualifier.
"Last year, I was looking at my medal and I was like, ‘I will get the gold medal next year,’" Yulo said.
"(Looking at it now) It’s ridiculous. I don’t really know. I didn’t expect to win this medal. I'm very happy right now."
China's Xiao Ruoteng followed a disappointing fourth-place finish in Friday's all-around final by claiming the bronze medal.
Tokyo-based Yulo improved on last year's bronze medal, which made him the first Filipino ever to occupy a podium spot at the championships.
Yulo is enjoying a memorable week in Stuttgart, having punched his ticket for next year's Tokyo Olympics with an 18th-place finish in the all-around qualifying.
Little over two hours after Yulo tasted glory, Ibrahim Colak struck gold in the rings final to hand Turkey their first-ever medal at the championships.
Colak earned a 14.933 to hold off a spirited challenge from Italy's Marco Lodadio, who finished just 0.033 of a point behind.
"I'm so happy for this. I don't know what can I say but I did," Colak said. "Also, I have tickets for the Olympic Games now. This is will be the first time for me."
France's Samir Ait Said took the bronze medal, three years after he suffered a horrific leg break at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)
