3 Fil-Am women gymnasts shine in historic Olympic debut

Photo from aleahfinn/Instagram

One remarkable aspect of the three Filipino American women gymnasts who represented the Philippines after 60 years was their ability to truly enjoy and embrace their Olympic debut.

Levi Jung-Ruivivar, Emma Malabuyo and Aleah Finnegan concluded their historic campaign with strength and pride, savoring every moment of their journey.

Aleah Finnegan, 21, who finished strongly at 10th on the vault apparatus after subdivision three, shared her reflections through LSU Gymnastics and FIG Gymnastics on Instagram, expressing, “It goes beyond just Olympics. It’s about raising the Philippines flag and showing it to the world.”

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Her sentiment resonated with the performances and smiles that the trio maintained throughout their routines at the Bercy Arena. Finnegan recorded 13.733 in vault, 12.566 in uneven bars, 11.466 on the balance beam and 12.733 in floor exercise.

While the group faced challenges in the qualification round of women’s artistic gymnastics, they carried the Philippine flag with pride. Finnegan ranked 33rd overall with a score of 50.498, while Jung-Ruivivar and Malabuyo, both scoring 51.099, held the 28th and 29th places respectively after subdivision three. But after subdivision four, their positions dropped to 40th, 41st and 47th respectively. Only the top 24 for all-around will advance to the finals.

The youngest in the Philippine delegation at 18, Jung-Ruivivar shared a moment on social media, posting a photo with the Philippine flag and captioning it, “Forever an Olympian 07.28.2024.”

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Jung-Ruivivar’s scores were 13.600 in vault, 13.200 in uneven bars, 11.866 on the balance beam and 12.433 in floor exercise. Meanwhile, Malabuyo posted scores of 13.266, 12.500, 12.233 and 13.100 in the same apparatuses.

In an interview with One Sports, Malabuyo reflected on her Olympic journey, expressing her trust in God and the process despite falling short in the women’s gymnastics all-around event.

“Golden boy” Carlos Yulo, who is currently heading to the finals for floor exercise, vault and all-around events, expressed that having the three women gymnasts representing the country affected him in a positive way, making him feel not alone in raising the flag in gymnastics.