Carlos Yulo coach spearheads search for new talents

Behind every great athlete is an equally great coach.

In the case of Carlos Yulo, the two-time world champion gymnast, that coach is Japanese Munehiro Kugimiya, who will spearhead the Japanese Cultural Grassroots Project (JCGP)—a program which hopes to create more Yulos in the future through the backing of the Japanese embassy in the Philippines.

“Gymnastics is the foundation of virtually all sports and we want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy it at a very young level so they can begin a healthy lifestyle and hopefully, we get to identify promising athletes with our courses,’’ said Kugimiya.

The program is scheduled for a soft launch on Thursday at the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) developmental gym inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

Kugimiya took the lead role in donating Olympic-standard equipment to GAP, headed by its president Cynthia Carrion, worth millions of pesos courtesy of the Japanese government.

Majority of these equipment, which developmental gymnasts in the national pool have already been utilizing, was used during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

“With the use of this proper equipment and with GAP trainers and instructors, these young athletes will undergo sessions where they can learn not only gymnastics basics but also hone their skills as they go up to different age-group levels,’’ said Kugimiya.

It was the same equipment that Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa turned over to Carrion early this year.

With a super tight schedule, including training Yulo for international competitions, Kugimiya took time out in late August to install the apparatuses and gear for gymnasts to use under GAP-accredited trainers and instructors.

Kugimiya is eager to find another Yulo, who was discovered by GAP when he was eight.

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