Emma Malabuyo’s Olympic dream began when she was a little girl. Now, they’ve been realized.
“It’s honestly like no other.”
This is how Filipino-American gymnast Emma Malabuyo described the support she’s been receiving from Team Philippines and the Filipino fans in her journey towards the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Malabuyo became the fourth gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, joining Carlos Yulo, Aleah Finnegan, and Levi Ruivivar
The 21-year-old did so after bagging the bronze medal in the the individual all-around event of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Uzbekistan last month.
[ALSO READ: Emma Malabuyo becomes fourth Filipino gymnast to qualify for 2024 Paris Olympics]
The Philippine Team, we’re all just a big family. We have so much support for one another and also to see the love from the fans. I wouldn’t be here without you guys,” Malabuyo revealed on the Pilipinas Live's Starting Lineup.
However, she had to endure some tough stretches before securing a slot in Paris dating back to 2020.
Malabuyo served as the alternate gymnast for the United States in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and combined with some shortcomings in previous tournaments before the Asian Championships, those situations lit a fire in her to continue pursuing that Olympic dream.
“I think it definitely played a factor and my motivation to try again in the Olympics. Just because I wasn’t able to compete in the Olympic stage. So I wanted to get a second chance to share with everybody what I’ve been working so hard on,”
“There was this World Cup series that I was working towards which could help me qualify for the Olympics. So I had to travel to four international competitions. I did all of those and was really close to qualifying for the Olympics [but] I miss that by one percent.”
Despite some mixed emotions, the Filipino-American knew what was at stake in the Asian Championships.
“There’s nothing to hold back ‘cause this is your last chance and even so I was a little bit nervous, I was motivated. Preparing and going to the Asian Championships, I was just putting all my effort just to be the best that I could be. “
In the end, Malabuyo tallied 50.398 points across all-four events, beating the likes of China's Hu Jiafei and Qin Xinyi and Kazakhstan's Aida Bauyrzhanova.
She also became the highest placing athlete who is eligible for the quota.
“I was holding hands with the whole Philippine Team and it was just awesome to have that kind of support,” she recalled.
“It was just fun competing on the floor but I enjoyed the crowd, and enjoyed performing so it’s definitely a highlight.”
Overcoming one adversity after the other, Malabuyo knew the sacrifices she had to make to represent the country in the quadrennial sporting event.
“The process [getting back to the Olympics] is incredibly difficult but I worked really hard just to get this far.”
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