Carlos Edriel Yulo will have company competing in the 42nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium in September.

And it won’t be just one but two of them as Alea Finnegan and national team rookie Kylee Ann Kvamme finished seventh and 14th, respectively, in the women’s individual-all around finals of the 10th Artistic Gymnastics Senior Asian Championships at the OCBC Arena in Singapore Friday.

Finnegan finished seventh overall in the event with a combined score of 50.399 points while Kvamme tallied 48.675 points in the four apparatuses – floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars and vault.

In another Gymnastics Association of the Philippines milestone under president Cynthia Carrion, they are the first Filipina gymnasts to represent the country in the world meet scheduled Sept. 30 to Oct. 8 in the Belgian port city that was the site of the inaugural world championships in 1903.

A varsity mainstay of the Louisiana State University Tigers, Finnegan, 20, sealed her slot to the world by being among the top eight finishers in the all-around event won by China’s Qiu Qiuyan (54.932), compatriot Zhang Qinying second (53.965) and South Korea’s Shin Solyi third (53.499).

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China likewise completed a sweep in capturing the team event as the Chinese bagged overall honors in the women’s division in scoring 163.529 points, followed by South Korea (160.095) and Chinese-Taipei (147.397), respectively.

Finnegan, Kvamme teamed up with Lucia Gutierrez, Emma Lauren Malabuyo and Lucia Mari Manzano in pooling a combined output of 145.096 points, good for fifth place, a remarkable outcome for the PH women’s squad that was making its debut in the Asian meet.

A double gold medalist in the 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games in 2022, Finnegan and the Washington-based Kvamme, 16, actually moved up the rankings to secure slots to Belgium since countries such as China and Japan had already qualified for the world meet, explained Carrion.

“This is why Alea moved up to second among the qualifiers while Kylie Ann rose to seventh,” explained Carrion.

“That we finally have two Filipina gymnasts who have qualified to the world championships for the first time is a historic occasion that our country and fans can be proud of. I congratulate Alea and Kylie for their huge accomplishments,” she stressed.

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“We’re very surprised but so proud of Kylie. She worked very, very hard for this,” said the young gymnast’s mom, Veronica Kvamme, who witnessed her daughter’s feat at the Singapore arena. “This is her first time to compete for the Philippines so it is a truly a memorable moment for her and our family.”

The PH gymnasts were in the final session of the day together with Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Mongolia, kicking off their drive with the balance beam then followed by the floor exercise, vault and uneven bars, respectively.

By then the Asian titans of China, Japan and South Korea had already completed their sessions earlier in the day,

Back in action on Saturday will be Carlos Edriel Yulo, who will be in the finals of his pet event, the floor exercise, and rings, after which he will compete in the vault and parallel bars on Sunday.

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Joining him in the floor exercise is teammate John Ivan Cruz, who bagged the gold in the same event in the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games last month.

Yulo, who settled for the silver in the men’s individual all-around last Thursday, is aiming to duplicate if not his surpass the three apparatus golds – floor exercise, vault and parallel bars – he won in the edition of the Asian meet held in Doha, Qatar last year.