Yulo, Paalam, and Villegas shoot for medals in Paris

Carlos Yulo

PARIS—The Philippine campaign in the 2024 Paris Olympics goes overdrive Friday when gymnast Carlos Yulo and boxers Carlo Paalam and Aira Villegas shoot for the elusive medals that have eluded their beaten compatriots all week.

Of the three, Yulo guns for no less than the golds in his favorite events—the floor exercise and then later, the vault, at the Bercy Arena starting at 3:30 p.m. (9:30 Philippines) in an effort to erase the memory of his Tokyo Olympics stint, where he came out empty-handed despite his status as 2019 World Championship Floor Exercise champ.

“Sa floor, magaling siya diyan. At least one gold, maybe two, if he does well in the vault,” said Gymnastics Association of the Philippines’ president Cynthia Carrion of the chances of Yulo, a former world champion in those two events.

In the floor exercise event of the all-around finals, though, Yulo was not even the top finishers with his 14.333, with Fil-British Jake Jarman (14.900) Ukraine’s  Illia Kovtun (14.700) setting the pace.

On the cusp of history, Paalam shoots for a second straight Olympic games’ medal when he takes on tall Australian fourth seed Charlie Senior in the quarterfinals of the men’s 57kg division at the North Paris Arena, where a victory will assure him of a bronze.

The 3:46 p.m. (9:46 p.m. Philippines) showdown will be a stern test for the former garbage scavenger Paalam, who found fame and fortune from boxing ever since bagging a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

Standing six inches taller at 5’10”, Senior presents a significant height advantage over the 5’4” Paalam, who knows he must be quick and smart to overcome this challenge.

“I’ll just follow my coaches’ strategy, and I think I have a good chance,” Paalam said after his unanimous decision victory over Irish boxer Jude Gallagher. “But I can’t relax, this is the Olympics.”

Gallagher was considered Paalam’s toughest opponent, before a potential semifinal clash with Uzbekistan’s Abdumalik Khalolov, a familiar foe from the past Asian Games.

Meanwhile, Senior enters the bout with momentum after a 4-1 win over Belgian Vasile Ustoroi. The Australian, known for his dancing skills, even celebrated his victory with a backflip.

“I didn’t come in here looking for easy fights,” Senior said in an interview with the Australian Olympic Committee.

On the other hand, Villegas, the biggest surprise of the Philippine boxing team here, also aims for at least a bronze when she takes on hometown bet Wassila Lkhadiri in the quarters of the 50-kg division on early Sunday (3:20 a.m.).

“Hopefully, we’ll have fair judging,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino.

“The French woman’s victory over the favored Irish girl was controversial,” added the POC chief, referring to Lkhadiri’s 4-1 win over Ireland’s Daina Moorehouse.