Carlos Yulo completes golden collection as PH breaks through in Asian Games

CHAMPION. The Philippines' Carlos Edriel Yulo celebrates with his coach Aldrin Castaneda after winning the men's floor exercise final in the artistic gymnastics competition of the 2026 Asian Games.

Edgar Su/REUTERS

Carlos Yulo reigns supreme in the Asian Games for the first time in his career and delivers the Philippines' first gold medal in the men's floor exercise

MANILA, Philippines – Carlos Yulo’s collection is finally complete.

Yulo reigned supreme in the Asian Games for the first time in his career and delivered the Philippines’ first gold medal in this edition in Nagoya, Japan, following his victory in the men’s floor exercise of the artistic gymnastics competition on Thursday, September 24.

Flashing the form that made him a double Olympic gold medalist, the 26-year-old posted 14.666 points as he ruled the eight-man final at the Nagoya General Gymnasium.

The last gymnast to see action, Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi gave Yulo a major scare but ultimately settled for silver with 14.6 points, while Japan’s Shoma Tsukiyama bagged the bronze with 14.566 points.

With his Asian Games triumph, Yulo has now won in possibly every major international tournament, with his trophy case boasting of gold medals from the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Championships, World Cup, and Southeast Asian Games.

And his victory hardly came as a surprise as Yulo topped the qualifications with 14.6 points. 

Even in the men’s team final, Yulo registered the highest floor exercise score of 14.266 points — a proof of consistent brilliance.

The floor exercise final turned into a family affair for Yulo as his younger brother Eldrew also qualified and ended up seventh with 12.233 points.

More medals are expected from the older Yulo, who will also take part in the vault and parallel bars finals on Friday, September 25. 

The younger Yulo, meanwhile, will get another medal opportunity in the horizontal bar final also set on Friday. – Rappler.com