WORLD champion gymnast Carlos Yulo and world-class pole vaulter EJ Obiena made waves overseas in June to emerge as the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s (PSA) top performers for the month.
Yulo earned the PSA nod after winning three gold medals at the Ninth Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Doha, Qatar.
The 22-year-old-gymnast won the vault, parallel bars and floor exercise and clinched a silver in all-around to earn an outright berth in the World Artistic Gymnastics in Liverpool, England, in October.
Obiena was not to be outdone by his fellow elite athlete.
The 6-foot-2 Italy-based pole vaulter registered 5.92 meters in winning the Taby Stavhoppsgala in Sweden just before the end of the month. He would clinched bronze at the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, over the weekend.
He did a season-best 5.92 meters to beat eight opponents, including his training partner and Rio 2016 Olympics champion Thiago Braz of Brazil.
The two athletes’ solid showing came right after they crushed the opposition in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi last May.
The PSA’s monthly citation is backed by San Miguel Corp., Milo, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, Amelie Hotel Manila, Unilever, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.