PARIS (Via PLDT Home) – Barring any unforeseen circumstance, a Filipino will likely win the men’s gymnastics’ floor exercise gold of the 2024 Paris Olympics here.
It will either be Carlos Yulo, a pure-blooded Pinoy.
Or Jake Jarman, a Filipino-British wunderkind.
“Isa lang ang makakalaban ni Caloy, si Jake Jarman,” said gymnastics’ president Cynthia Carrion when asked who will be the Filipino gymnast’s biggest threat to win the gold in the floor exercise finals on August 3.
“He’s a British Filipino, kaibigan siya ni Caloy,” added Carrion of the Fil-Brit, who is fighting neck-and-neck with Yulo at the end of the men’s floor exercise qualification phase, with a leading score of 14.966 to the latter’s 14.766.
Jarman was only a reserve player for the British team during the Tokyo Olympics, where Yulo finished 44th in the floor exercise and fourth in the vault.
But the 22-year-old Jarman finally bloomed the following year in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he won golds in the team competition, the individual all-around, the floor final and the vault.
The following year, Jarman captured the gold in his favorite vault event of the 2023 World Championship, while making the finals of the all-around. This also makes him Yulo’s biggest thorn in his quest for the all-around and vault golds, where the Filipino also qualified in the finals.
“Caloy’s chances to medal in the overall, mahirap. Even bronze, mahirap. Pero sa floor, magaling siya diyan. At least one gold, maybe two, if he does well in the vault,” said Carrion.
But while Jarman stands on the opposite side of the fence for now, the gymnastics’ chief is luring him to join the Philippine team in the future.
“Next Olympics, he (Jarman) wants to be fighting for the Phillippines, nagsabi na siya sa akin. FIG (world gymnastics body) has to give us the permission. Let’s see if FIG says yes or no. I have to write a letter, first of all, to the British (federation), they will have to release him. Once (the) British (federation) releases him, then I have to write a letter to FIG to release him, and then I have to make sure that he has a passport like I did to the (Fil-Am) girls,” said Carrion, referring to Paris Olympians Emma Malabuyo, Aleah Finnegan, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar who will all plunge into action on Sunday.
Sunday is also a relaxation day for Yulo, a day to recuperate and rest his tired muscles. Then, it’s all out training starting Monday.
“He will be training full force, starting Monday. All the way, it’s training training training,” said Carrion.
