Carlos Yulo did cracked, but give him a break.
It's obvious that Carlos Yulo, the 21 year old Filipino gymnast, cracked on the biggest stage. Whatever the reason, physical or mental, just give him a break.
The 4 foot 11 phenom underperformed abysmally, placing 47th on the overall standings. His lowlights include placing 44th on his favorite event, the floor exercise, 63rd on the horizontal bar, and 69th on pommel horse. His surprising 6th placed finish on vault is his only saving grace. The top 24 gymnasts with a maximum of two entries per country would qualify for the Men's All-Around Finals, meanwhile top eight athletes would compete on each apparatus finals.
There are reports of the gymnast has suffered a hip injury a week before the start of the qualifications. Thankfully, it didn't forced him to forfeit the competition altogether. Still, a niggling can affect the performance of an athlete, no matter how minor it is. Also, don't discount the added pressure of winning multiple medals to the young Olympic debutant.
Considering the factors, we should not be hard on him. Speaking of experience, negative internal and external factors can affect a young gun. Considering that, I have competed on national level competition only, meanwhile he represents our country. This is only his first Olympics. The lessons he learned on his debut will make him stronger. He will probably compete on 2024, 2028, or even 2032 Olympics.
Placing 6th on vault shows that he is oozing with talent. Considering that he himself didn't expect that he would qualify on the said event. That outstanding performance on an event that isn't his favorite made me salivate on the prospect of a stronger, wiser Yulo on the next Olympics.
Let's focus on the present, he qualified for the Men's Vault finals. Hidelyn Diaz' gold medal performance will be a boost for him on the upcoming finals. Not only that the her victory will improve morale, but also relieve the pressure of winning the first gold medal for the Philippines. She already did it, the curse is now over. Him, winning the gold medal, is just an icing on the cake for a nation still celebrating its first victory in the biggest sporting event in the world.