Why did Olympic champion Carlos Yulo not attend SEA Games 33?

The Philippines will arrive at the 33rd SEA Games with nearly 1,200 athletes, the largest number in the country’s history. With a record number of athletes, Philippine sports aims to surpass the 58 gold medals achieved two years ago in Cambodia.

However, Gymnastics star Carlos Yulo was not present. This is a big loss for the Philippine sports delegation because since the first SEA Games in 2019, he has won a total of 18 medals, half of which are Gold. At the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam alone, Carlos Yulo won 5 Gold medals and 2 Silver medals. In addition, he is also one of the few Southeast Asian athletes who have reached world class when he excellently won 2 Gold medals at the 2024 Olympics.

According to Rappler , Carlos Yulo is very interested in the 33rd SEA Games and wants to repeat the experience of competing in the regional arena. However, he decided not to participate to give the opportunity to other teammates, after considering the changes made by the host country, Thailand.

Carlos Yulo won a total of 18 medals, half of which were Gold, in the previous 3 SEA Games.

According to the President of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP), Ms. Cynthia Carrion, the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee stipulated that gymnasts are only allowed to compete for one medal for each individual event, while the individual all-around and team events - which are among the Philippines' strongest events - were eliminated.

"The host Thailand thinks too much about the medals they think they will win, and ignores the desire of the athletes to compete. The saddest thing is that the most exciting event is not the team event. Otherwise, we would have had a great chance to win like we did at the SEA Games in Vietnam," GAP President told Rappler , "So Carlos Yulo will not compete. He wants to give his teammates a chance to win."

Despite the absence of Carlos Yulo, the Philippine Gymnastics team is still very strong, including Ivan Cruz, a vaulting expert and star Miguel Besana, Justine Ace de Leon in the men's team, and Aleah Finnegan in the women's team. Carlos Yulo has great confidence in these names, saying "all have been well prepared and are ready to enjoy and repeat the achievements they have achieved in previous SEA Games."

Source: https://tienphong.vn/vi-sao-nha-vo-dich-olympic-carlos-yulo-khong-du-sea-games-33-post1802631.tpo