The latest social media post by Munehiro Kugimiya, Carlos Yulo’s coach, comes after the gymnast fell short of winning Olympic gold.
The 2020 Olympics are proving to be a tough test for gymnast Carlos Yulo as he bowed out of four of five gymnastics events on Saturday, July 24. While the 21-year-old made it to the finals of the vault, he finished at 44th in the floor exercise, the same event where he earned his ticket to the Tokyo Olympics during the 2019 World Championship.
Despite a devastating loss and an uproar of disapproving comments from Filipino watchers on social media, Yulo’s coach of six years, Munehiro Kugimiya, was more than ready to come to the gymnast’s rescue.
“If you want to blame [someone], please say [it] to his coach. If you want to say [it was a] waste, please say [it] to his coach. He is the person who has responsibility [for] what [the athlete] did,” Kugimiya wrote on Facebook. “[The] athlete is always trying [his] best. If [a mistake happens, it is] because of his coach. I am his coach.”
“Caloy is Caloy even though [in] success or [failure]. [Caloy is] one of my proud gymnast,” the Japanese coach added.
“If I’m not desirable as [a] Philippine coach, just tell me. I’m here.”
Kugimiya also wrote that if anyone is being hard on themselves after the loss, it’s Yulo, but despite hardships, he will always be right beside the athlete.
“He [is] already seeing forward now. Please support and pray for him,” Kugimiya pleaded to Yulo’s fans. “I promise this experience [will] make him stronger than now.”
‘Do not give up until the very end.”
Yulo relocated to Japan back in 2017 to train under Kugimiya as part of a scheme supported by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and the Japan Gymnastics Association.
In the event on Saturday, Yulo settled for an overall score of 79.931 in his first Olympic outing ever. He failed to make it to the finals of the rings, horizontal bar, parallel bars, and the pommel horse but managed to turn things around by finishing 6th in the vault event.
He makes his return to the mat to attempt a podium finish for the vault apparatus on August 2.
