John McCarthy
PARIS (AP) — Carlos Yulo won the second Olympic gold medal ever for the Philippines, edging defending champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel in the men’s floor exercise finals at the Paris Games on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Yulo scored 15.000, just ahead of Dolgopyat, the defending champion at 14.966. Jake Jarman of Britain claimed the bronze with a 14.933.
Yulo stuck his triple-twisting dismount during his final tumbling pass. He stuck his arms out and roared inside a packed Bercy Arena before walking off the podium.
Yulo joins weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz as Olympic gold medalists from the Philippines. Diaz earned gold in the women’s 55-kilogram division in Tokyo three years ago.
The event finals continue later Saturday with the women’s vault final, where American star Simone Biles will look to become the second woman in Olympic history to win vault twice. A medal by Biles would give her 10 in her Olympic career, tied for the third most ever. Biles could add to that total if she finishes in the top three on balance beam and floor exercise on Monday.
The men’s pommel horse final is also later Saturday. American Stephen Nedoroscik and Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland tied for the top score in qualifying.
By WILL GRAVES/Associated Press
Graves is a national writer for The Associated Press, based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NFL, MLB, NHL, the Olympics and major college sports.
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
