Gold medalist Carlos Edriel Yulo (C) of Philippines, silver medalist Artem Dolgopyat (L) of Israel and bronze medalist Xiao Ruoteng of China (R) pose for photos during the awarding ceremony after the men's floor exercise final at the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)
Carlos Edriel Yulo makes history winning a first gymnastics gold for of the Philippines in men's floor exercise. China's Xiao Ruoteng wins a bronze.
STUTTGART, Germany, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- After a disappointing fourth finish in all-around, China's Xiao Ruoteng won the only medal for China on Saturday in the men's floor exercise final here in 2019 World Gymnastics Championships.
Tumbling a Randi, 3 1/2 to barani, and double-double for the 6.2 difficulties, Xiao tried his best to win the bronze with 14.933.
"I think I did a really good job today," said Xiao, the 2017 world All-around champion. "It's not easy as an all-arounder to get on to the podium for the apparatus finals, so I'm really excited and happy. Yesterday I was more nervous, but today I was here to compete with the specialists. So I was much more relaxed."
Xiao Ruoteng of China competes during the men's floor exercise final at the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines, who already made history in 2018 with his bronze medal on floor, became the Philippines' first world champion in any gymnastics discipline.
Xiao told Xinhua that he noticed Yulo had made great progress in the recent years and his moves were always hard, but he was still surprised to see Yulo crowned.
"I thought Dolgopyat might be the best and I took him as the strongest competitor. Dolgopyat got a higher mark than me, which is predictable, and now I seem to have another top competitor," Xiao said.
Artem Dolgopyat of Israel settled for a silver and he hoped to upgrade it to gold in the future.
Carlos Edriel Yulo of Philippines celebrates after the men's floor exercise final at the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
Simone Biles of United States kept her domination on women's vault and defended the title with an averaging 15.399 for her Cheng vault (6.0 Difficulty) and Amanar (5.8 Difficulty) in two attempts.
Rio Olympic champion Max Whitlock of Britain won a thrilling final on pommel horse, adding his third career world title on the event following victories in 2015 and 2017.
Elsewhere, Nina Derwael of Belgium defended her title on uneven bars with 15.233. Ibrahim Colak struck gold on the rings with 14.933, to become the first Turkish world title holder in gymnastics. ■
