Men’s Jr Worlds Podium Training

Competition goes 20 to 24 November at the Marriott Grand Ballroom at the Newport World Resorts in the Metro Manila city of Pasay.

most of the young men took this opportunity quite seriously. There wasn’t much joking around on the floor.
coaches free to ask questions of the judges
facility looks great. Feels more like a small arena than a hotel ballroom.

competitors who haven’t trained on TaiShan told me equipment was good — but different. Floor is hard as most NEW Floors are until hundreds of gymnasts have pounded it. One told me the Pommel Horse felt springy. Light coloured Floor caused no confusion. It’s not white, as it was in Jakarta.
once again, something went wrong with the podium H Bar set-up. Yep. While USA was training. Actually, it was just the tension gauge which stopped working and had to be replaced. It caused a slight delay.
close to 750 athletes total will compete in the 2025 edition of Jr. Worlds, the 3rd edition. It’s getting increasingly popular. Nations are finding funding.
Israel is here — and their guys look great. Potential for several Finals.
security seems quite good to me. The streets of Pasay City outside reveal many armed guards, as well. We are close to the airport.
Ukraine and AIN are here
Karl Eldrew Yulo, the younger brother of two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo, has a lot of media following him. Another superstar in the making for Philippines.

Japan is looking great, as expected. China as well.
Rings is the weak apparatus, as expected.
Pommels impressed me most. There are another dozen Juniors who will soon be challenging the top Seniors on Horse. I can’t understand how so many guys are getting so good, so young.
of course the size and maturation of competitors is wildly different at this age. Some guys are more than twice as heavy as others. Happily, late developers have some advantages in MAG. There’s no rush.
how many of these Juniors will ever compete Sr. Worlds?
on the other hand, Shinnosuke Oka won the 1st Jr. Worlds in 2019 and went on to be Olympic Champion in 2024. Ángel Barajas was 2nd AA at the 2023 Jr Worlds. A year later won the silver medal on the horizontal bar at the 2024 Olympic Games.
no doubt some future stars will become well known after Manila

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Congratulations to GAP and the organizing committee. They’ve done an amazing job putting together this competition.

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