Levi Jung-Ruivivar was having the time of her life when she competed in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 artistic gymnastics.
Almost a week ago, Filipino Olympian Levi Jung-Ruivivar could barely walk after suffering a severe allergic reaction while strolling inside the Olympic Village.
To say that the days that followed were tough is an understatement.
“The day after, I barely could do anything. I was just trying to walk. We had to go back to the hospital to do a check up and see if there’s anything we could do,” the 18-year-old Filipina gymnast said of her unfortunate episode.
“Then the last few days of training were really rough. My body was feeling it. My muscles felt weak. My endurance was down. I just didn’t feel like myself at all. I was really struggling to be able to do my normal gymnastics.”
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Jung-Ruivivar didn’t look like she went through all that, though, when the women's artistic gymnastics competition unfurled on Sunday, July 28 (Philippine time) at the Bercy Arena.
The 18-year-old phenom was having the time of her life on the mats when she delivered solid performances in artistic gymnastics.
Levi scored 11.866 in balance beam, 12.433 in floor exercise, 13.20 in uneven bars, and 13.600 in vault. After subdivision 3, she tallied 51.099 to place 32nd overall in the all-around.
Not bad for an Olympic debutant.
“Honestly I’m just blessed that I get to be here because at the beginning of this week I was in an ambulance, I was in a hospital, I ccouldn’t get up, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t walk so the recovery has been really tough,” she said, whose fellow Filipina gymnast Emma Malabuyo (51.099) and Aleah Finnegan (50.498) took the 33rd and 38th spots, respectively, at the end of their subdivision.
As impressive as they were in their respective Olympic debuts, the Filipina gymnastics trio bowed out of the competition.
Only the top-24 (two per country) will march on the women’s all-around finals, while the top-8 (two per country) in each apparatus will qualify for the finals.
But make no mistake about it, Levi relished the opportunity to represent the Philippines in the sports’ grandest stage and Jung-Ruivivar vows to come back better, with Los Angeles 2028 a clear target.
“I was having a good time out there which was the most important thing. It was a really incredible experience, it makes me even more motivated to come back for 2028. So I’m very excited,” she said.
(With reports from Boom Gonzales, Cignal TV)