Carlos Yulo Targets Vault Defense as Brothers Lead Philippine Campaign at Rotterdam Worlds

Eight World Medals and Another Title to Chase

Carlos Yulo heads to Rotterdam with eight World Championships medals, a vault title to defend and a broader assignment: competing across all six men's apparatuses alongside his younger brother, Karl Eldrew. The Philippine campaign follows Asian Games gold medals for Carlos in floor exercise and vault, and a horizontal bar bronze for Eldrew.

The International Gymnastics Federation's official event listing confirms that the 54th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are approved and scheduled for October 17 to 25, 2026, at Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands. It lists both men's and women's artistic gymnastics. One report gives October 18 to 25 instead, but the federation's published event dates begin on October 17.

Juancho Miguel Besana and Haylee Garcia complete the reported Philippine delegation. Both Yulo brothers are expected to enter the men's individual all around, which combines performances on six apparatuses. Besana will concentrate on selected events, while Garcia is set to compete in the women's individual all around.

Carlos arrives as the reigning world vault champion after winning gold in Jakarta in 2025, where he also took floor bronze. His Rotterdam challenge therefore has two distinct parts: retaining an apparatus title against familiar rivals and qualifying for finals while carrying the workload of a complete six apparatus program.

For Eldrew, 18, the same championship represents a first appearance at this level. His recent medals give the Philippines another potential contender, although his own stated priority is learning rather than promising a podium finish. That difference in experience shapes a campaign combining an established champion's title defense with a younger gymnast's first test at Worlds.

Antibes Camp Follows the Asian Games

The Yulo brothers prepared in Antibes, France, at the Ville D' Antibes men's artistic gymnastics gym. Their support group included coach and trainer Aldrin Castañeda, team assistant Josh Garcia and physiotherapist Bethel Solano. Eldrew discussed his preparations on the fifth day of the camp.

Carlos, a double Olympic champion in floor exercise and vault, described the Asian Games as part of his preparation for Rotterdam in a video posted by the Asian Gymnastics Union.

“We had a competition in the Asian Games, so that one also is part of my preparation to go to the World Championships, so now we’re almost complete in our training camps, and we’re ready to go to the World Championships,” Yulo said.

He also made clear that his intended program extends beyond his two strongest medal events.

“I’m going to do six apparatuses, and hopefully we get to the finals,” he added.

That plan makes the French camp relevant to more than vault and floor. The men's all around also includes pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar, requiring a gymnast to deliver across apparatuses with different technical demands.

A Medal Record Built Since 2018

Since his World Championships debut in 2018, Carlos has collected three gold, two silver and three bronze medals. His two medals in Jakarta account for one quarter of that eight medal total, showing how much his latest world appearance contributed to an already substantial record.

The 2025 results also establish different starting points for his main events. On vault, he returns as the champion. On floor, he seeks to improve on bronze while facing the gymnast who won last year's title. He is also a former world bronze medalist on parallel bars, giving his six apparatus campaign another event with a proven medal history.

Carlos named Japanese Olympic champions Kohei Uchimura and Yusuke Tanaka as childhood inspirations, particularly Uchimura, who motivated his Olympic ambitions. Their influence offers a personal thread in a championship where Japan is again expected to be a major force.

Eldrew Puts Learning Before Predictions

Eldrew's Rotterdam debut follows medals on two different apparatuses during the Asian season. He won floor exercise bronze at the Asian championships in Zunyi, China, in June, then horizontal bar bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September. His other reported results include gold at the Antalya World Cup and two bronze medals at the Cairo World Cup.

Those results support expectations that he can compete seriously, but Eldrew has presented a more measured personal target. Speaking during the Antibes camp, the 18-year-old acknowledged that his development is still under way.

“There are many things that I still need to learn, many failures that I will encounter to become more successful and sharp,” Yulo said.

Rotterdam will also be his third competition alongside Carlos, following the Asian championships and Asian Games. Eldrew described that shared experience while explaining his approach to his first Worlds.

This is another exciting moment to cherish, my third time competing alongside my brother Carlos,” Eldrew Yulo said. “For now, all I want is to learn, absorb and listen. This is my first world championships and I’m hoping to do well.

The distinction matters when assessing his prospects. A continental medal and World Cup successes are evidence of progress, not a guarantee of a world final or medal. Competing across all six apparatuses will give him a broader test than the individual events on which he has recently reached the podium.

Four Gymnasts, Different Assignments

Besana enters the Philippine campaign after finishing fifth in the Asian Games men's vault final. His focus on selected apparatuses differs from the brothers' intended all around programs. The precise list of events he will contest has not been specified in the reported lineup.

Garcia, who also competed at the Asian Games, is the Philippine representative named for the women's individual all around. That competition combines vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Her assignment gives the delegation a presence in both disciplines listed by the federation, although no specific Rotterdam medal target has been stated for her.

Vault Defense Brings Back Familiar Rivals

Carlos could face both gymnasts who joined him on the 2025 world vault podium. Armenia's Artur Davtyan won silver in Jakarta, while Ukraine's Nazar Chepurnyi took bronze. All three are identified as returning contenders, setting up the possibility of a direct contest among last year's medalists.

Britain adds two major challengers: Jake Jarman, the 2023 world vault champion, and Harry Hepworth, the Paris Olympic bronze medalist. Other names in the preview include Kameron Nelson of the United States, Yahor Sharamkou competing under WG1 and Korea's Kim Jaeho.

Vault medals are decided through two vaults, making execution on both attempts central to the result. Difficulty gives a gymnast scoring potential, but landing errors reduce the score. In a field containing world and Olympic medalists, a small step or loss of control can separate otherwise closely matched performances.

Carlos's Asian Games vault gold is his latest reported success before Rotterdam. It adds momentum, but the return of Davtyan and Chepurnyi, together with the British challengers, means his defense cannot be judged solely by that continental result.

Floor and Parallel Bars Broaden the Challenge

On floor, Carlos enters as the reigning Olympic champion but not the defending world champion. That distinction belongs to Jarman, who won in Jakarta. Israel's Artem Dolgopyat, the Tokyo Olympic floor champion, is another leading contender.

The field also includes Kazakhstan's Milad Karimi, Hepworth, Nelson and Arsenii Dukhno. Carlos's 2025 bronze and recent Asian Games gold place him among the established challengers, while the mix of champions makes precise execution and controlled landings especially valuable.

Parallel bars presents a different balance. China's Zou Jingyuan, a double Olympic champion and four time world champion on the apparatus, is chasing a fifth world title. Carlos's previous world bronze establishes his credentials, but Zou enters with the strongest championship record in the preview.

Japan's Shohei Kawakami and Shinnosuke Oka, Croatia's Illia Kovtun and Britain's Joe Fraser are among the other contenders. Carlos's participation across six apparatuses therefore creates opportunities beyond vault and floor without making each event an equally likely route to a medal.

The All Around Field Tests the Brothers' Range

Japan's Daiki Hashimoto and Oka lead the men's all around preview. Hashimoto is the defending world champion, while Oka is the reigning Olympic champion. Their presence sets a demanding standard for both Yulo brothers as they seek to advance beyond qualification.

China's Zhang Boheng is absent because of injury, according to the event preview. The 2021 world all around champion defeated both Japanese stars at the Asian Games and helped China win the team title. His withdrawal removes a major contender, but the remaining field still includes Frederick Richard of the United States, Fraser, Kovtun and Switzerland's Noe Seifert, the 2025 world bronze medalist.

The all around rewards the combined score across six events rather than excellence on one apparatus alone. That is why Carlos's vault and floor record, or Eldrew's horizontal bar medal, cannot by themselves establish an all around prediction. Their stated aim of reaching finals must first be tested through qualification.

Olympic Stakes Need Clarification

Reports disagree on whether Rotterdam offers qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The account of Eldrew's preparations says the championships are not an Olympic qualifier. A separate competition preview says the top three teams in each of the men's and women's team finals will secure Olympic team berths.

The federation's event listing confirms the venue, dates and disciplines, but the displayed information does not resolve that disagreement. It is therefore necessary to distinguish the reported team qualification claim from the Philippine gymnasts' individual assignments. The named Philippine roster does not establish an Olympic qualification route for either brother.

Participation estimates also differ in scope and precision. The report on Eldrew refers to more than 200 gymnasts, while the broader preview gives more than 400 athletes from 83 nations competing for 14 world titles. The smaller estimate does not specify whether it counts only the men's field, so the two figures cannot be directly reconciled.

The preview lists eight men's titles across the team event, all around and six apparatus finals. Japan enters as the defending world and Olympic team champion, with China, the United States and Great Britain among its rivals. Rotterdam Ahoy previously hosted the championships in 1987 and 2010.

From Zunyi to Rotterdam

The brothers' season links continental results, a European training camp and the approaching world competition. The reported sequence is:

• June 2026: The brothers competed together at the Asian championships in Zunyi, where Eldrew won floor bronze.
• September 2026: Carlos won Asian Games gold in floor and vault; Eldrew took horizontal bar bronze, and Besana finished fifth in the vault final.
• Before Worlds: The brothers trained in Antibes with Castañeda and their support team.
• October 17 to 25, 2026: The federation's official dates place the World Championships at Rotterdam Ahoy.

The next competitive step is qualification, where the brothers will try to turn their intended six apparatus programs into places in finals. Exact Philippine session times and a complete apparatus schedule are not established here, and no Rotterdam results have yet been reported.

The Essentials

• Carlos Yulo seeks to defend his world vault title after winning vault gold and floor bronze in Jakarta in 2025.
• He has eight World Championships medals: three gold, two silver and three bronze.
• Carlos and Karl Eldrew Yulo are expected to compete in the men's individual all around.
• Eldrew, 18, is preparing for his first World Championships after Asian medals on floor and horizontal bar.
• Juancho Miguel Besana will focus on selected events; Haylee Garcia is set for the women's individual all around.
• The federation lists Rotterdam Ahoy and October 17 to 25 as the official venue and dates.
• Reports conflict on Olympic qualification stakes, which the displayed official event information does not settle.