Although their Paris Olympics journey ends here, the trio of Filipina gymnasts have already left a mark, writing history for Philippine gymnastics.
Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi-Jung Ruivivar have officially made their debuts at the Olympics as the three Filipinas competed in Sunday’s women’s artistic gymnastics qualification rounds at the Bercy Arena.
Although the trio was unable to advance to the finals of their events, their performances in the women’s qualification rounds earlier today were enough to make history, as they have become the Philippines’ first female gymnasts to compete in the Olympics since 1964.
During the qualification rounds, the three Filipinas left it all on the mat to perform all four apparatuses: balance beam, floor exercise, vault, and uneven bars. Here’s how they did.
Emma Malabuyo
Emma Malabuyo was a former member of the United States National Team and was even an alternate for the 2020 US Olympic team before she committed to the Philippines.
The California-based gymnast stunned in her floor exercise routine — what is known to be her specialty — highlighted by her stunts that granted her a score of 13.100, which landed her in 20th out of 45 gymnasts at the end of Subdivision 3.
But, it was her vault that produced her highest score of the day: 13.266. Finally, she concluded the qualifiers in 36th (with a score of 12.233) for balance beam and 39th (with a score of 12.500) in uneven bars.
With these, she finished 29th out of 36 in the all-around table at the end of Subdivision 3.
Aleah Finnegan
Aleah Finnegan, who is a two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, saw her brightest moment in the vault. She scored an impressive 13.733 on her first attempt, though her final score averaged to a 13.383 after her second go at the apparatus.
Finnegan opened her Olympic campaign with 11.466 on the balance beam, which she followed with a 12.733 on the floor exercise. Finally, she scored a 12.566 on the uneven bars to finish her stint at the 2024 Olympics women’s artistic gymnastics performances.
All in all, she finished 33rd in the all-around table at the end of Subdivision 3.
Levi Jung-Ruivivar
Finally, Ruivivar, the youngest Philippine Olympian in Paris, impressed on the vault. She scored 13.600, the highest of the Filipina gymnasts for this event.
And the 18-year-old did not stop impressing there. On the uneven bars — the event that booked her ticket to Paris 2024 — she also led the Filipinas, scoring 13.200 and landing in 26th out of 48 thus far into the qualification rounds. Her numbers were capped off with 11.866 on the balance beam and 12.433 on the floor exercise.
These numbers put her in 28th in the all-around at the end of Subdivision 3, the highest finish among the three gymnasts.
This was especially impressive for the youngster who, just a few days before, suffered from an anaphylactic reaction in the Olympic Village. She expressed that this had taken a toll on her body in the leadup to her events today, but she still managed to showcase her tenacity on the mat.
Although Subdivisions 4 and 5 of the women’s artistic gymnastics qualifications are still yet to take place as of writing, which could alter the Filipinas’ final rankings later on, their campaign sadly ends here, as only the top eight of each apparatus and the top 24 of the all-around advance to the finals — and the competition was fierce.
All three of the Philippines’ representatives were trained in the United States and each spent time on the United States National Team before committing to the Philippines, and today, they were up against some strong, familiar foes, including none other than Simone Biles, who currently sits at 8th in all-around.
Even so, it is safe to say that all three of these confident ladies can walk off the mats with their heads held high, knowing they gave it their all for the flag.
Banner image from Emma Malabuyo on Instagram.
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