Carlos Yulo wins PH's first gold in 2026 Asian Games after ruling floor exercise finals

Carlos Yulo captured an elusive gold medal in the Asian Games — and delivered the country's first gold in the current edition of the games — after ruling the men's floor exercise finals on Thursday at the Nagoya General Gymnasium in Japan.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist scored a whopping 14.666 anchored on 8.966 in execution and 5.7 in difficulty to rule the eight-man field that also featured his younger brother Eldrew.

It was the first gold medal for the Philippines in this edition of the games, pushing the country's medal haul up to one gold, one silver, and four bronze medals.

Yulo will have an opportunity to shoot for more medals in the finals of the vault and parallel bars events.

Yulo surpassed his qualifying mark of 14.600 to win his maiden Asian Games gold medal, completing his collection of titles that include golds in SEA Games, Asian Championship, World Championships, and the Olympics.

To deliver the gold, the 26-year-old Yulo won by just 0.066 against his closest pursuer in Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who performed last and garnered an impressive score of 14.600 to seize the silver medal.

Shoma Tsukiyama of Japan put together 14.566 to settle for the bronze in front of his home crowd while Eldrew finished seventh after posting 12.233 points.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News